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23  WEST  M/)!N  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  USSO 

(716)  872-4503 


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CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHM/ICIVIH 
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microfiches. 


1 


Canadian  institute  for  Historical  Micrrireproductions  /Institut  canadien  de  microreproductions  historiques 


>^ 


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n 


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10X 

'AX 

ma 

22X 

26X 

30X 

y 

u 

12X 

16X 

20X 

a4x 

28X 

32X 

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empreinte. 

Un  des  symboles  suivants  opparaitra  sur  la 
dernidre  image  de  chaque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbole  —^  signifie  "A  SUIVRE  ",  le 
symbole  V  signifie  "FIN". 

Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  dtre 
filmds  d  des  taux  de  reduction  diff^rents. 
Lorsque  ie  document  est  trop  grand  pour  etre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  clich6,  ii  est  film6  d  partir 
de  Tangle  sup6rieur  gauche,  de  gauche  d  droite, 
et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  n6cessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  m^thode. 


1 

2 

3 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

'M 


■I 


3nt)cntio  ifortnnata. 


ARCTIC    FXPLORATION 


WITH     AN     ACCOUNT    OF 


Nicholas    of   Cimn. 


Read  before  the  American  Geographical  Society,  Chickcring  Hall, 

May    i5ih,    1880. 

Reprinted    from    the    Bulletin    of  the    Society. 


By  B.  F    DeCosta. 


CO 


The  Arc'r.c  Institute 


Gt 


North  America 


NEW  YORK. 

1881. 


^ 


^ 


A  K c;  T 1  C    EX  1» L O  U  A  T  I  ( )  X 


HT 


TIIK  Ki:v.   15.   1'.  1)K  lOSTA. 


At  ail  early  periixl  navii>ators  dirccttMl  tlioir  eiitorpriso  towanls 
the  iioitli.  Encouragement  to  explore  a  reijion  invested  with  mys- 
tery and  romance  was  found  in  the  I'aet  that  great  currents,  both  in 
in  the  sea  and  the  air,  were  ready  to  serve  as  guides  and  help  tlieni 
on  their  way.  Nature  appears  partial  towards  the  north,  as  the 
equator  of  heat  is  l»y  no  means  coincident  with  the  e<piatorial  line 
In  j>ortions  of  the  Pacific  the  equator  of  heat  indeed  runs  south  of 
the  geographical  e<piator,  but  elsewhere  it  sweeps  ten  degrees  north 
of  the  line,  and  from  thence  hot  waves  are  thrown  off  towards  the 
pole.  When  1>attling  his  way  towards  the  high  latitudes,  man  acts 
in  sympathy  with  the  mightiest  forces  of  nature.  The  magnetic 
needle,  p»^inting  steadfastly  towards  the  north,  is  the  index  of  his 
mind.  This  joint  tendency  of  nature  and  man  is})rophetic  and  tells 
of  a  triumphant  result. 

When  or  under  what  circumstances  the  first  arctic  voyage  was 
nuide  is  not  now  known.  At  the  dawn  of  history,  the  northern  regions 
were  represented  as  the  realm  of  perpetual  night.  There,  upon  the 
border  of  a  vast  sea,  the  Cimmerians  dwelt  in  the  congenial  gloom, 
their  habits  forming  the  theme  of  grotesque  fables.  The  earliest 
mai)s,  however,  show  the  polar  regions  as  occupied  by  a  watery 
waste,  while  there  are  few  statements  that  come  to  us  from  that  early 
period  which  are  more  definite  than  that  of  Scymnus  of  Clio,  who 
flourished  about  000  years  B.  C,  and  who  says,  in  his  Fragments, 
"  that  at  the  extremity  of  the  Celts  is  a  boreal  i»eak  ;  it  is  very  high 
and  sends  out  a  cape  into  a  stormy  sea."*  Letronne  thinks  that 
^Tt/hf  is  a  i>oetical  expression,  indicating  some  mountain  chain, 
whose  peak  performed  the  same  ottice  in  the  north  that  w  is  filled  by 
Etna  in  the  south,  Caucasus  in  the  east,  and  Atlas  in  the  west. 


*  "  Kragineiits  ties  jioeinos  Ge  )si'n|)liique.-j    »lc  Seyiunus  tic  Clio,"   &c.      By  M. 
Letronae  (p.   G(5). 


3486 


wmm. 


4  Arctic  Eji'plorathni. 

Tlic  earliest  voyage  to  the  north  is  that  claimed  for  Pytheus, 
the  distinguished  Phenieian  astronomer  and  geographer  of  Mar- 
seilles, who  tlourished  Wli)  B.  C.  His  works  were  extant  in  the  fifth 
centin-y,  but  are  no  longer  found.  Pliny  and  P^ratosthencs  gave 
full  credit  to  his  narrations,  though  Strabo  shows  great  hostility 
to  Pytheus,  whose  accounts  he  refused  to  receive,  saying  that  he 
made  "use  cf  his  ac(juaintance  with  astronomy  and  inathematics  to 
fabricate  his  false  narrative."*  Pliny,  however,  with  more  reason, 
thought  that  he  employed  his  knowledge  in  pi-actical  exploration. 
The  latest  editor  of  8trabo  does  not  share  in  his  author's  doubt. 
According  to  Pliny  and  others,  Pytheus  sailed  through  the  Straits  of 
Gibraltar,  making  his  w^ay  north  to  the  IJritisli  isles,  whither  it  was 
the  custom  of  his  countrymen  to  resort,  and,  after  traveling  over 
England  on  foot,  proceeded  northward  to  a  place  called  "  Thule," 
six  days'  sail  from  the  northern  i»art  of  Britain.!  Strabo  points 
out  serious  errors  in  his  account  of  England,  .but  the  errors  in  the 
main  may  be  attributed  to  transcribers  ;  by  whom  Timceus  is  made 
to  call  Vectis,  the  Tsle  of  Wight,  "Mictis,''  and  put  it  at  six  days' 
sail  from  Britain.  In  Pliny's  time  those  regions  Avere  well  known, 
and  he  speaks  (,f  "  writers  who  make  mention  of  some  other 
islands — Scandia,  namely,  Diinna,  Bergos  and,  greater  than  all,  Neri- 
gos,  from  which  persons  embark  for  Thule.     Atone  day's  sail  from 


*  HtialK),  H.    VIJ.c.  8,  1. 

f  Pliny,  Nat.  Hist.,  15.  11.,  c.  7r, ;  and  B.  1\'.,  c.  l:},  30,  36.  Stnilio  says  :  "  It  is 
true  that  Pytheus  of  Marseilles  aflirins  that  the  farthest  country  north  of  the  liritisli 
islands  is  Thule,  for  which  liesa^s  the  sutnnier  tropi(Mind  the  arctic  circle  is  all  one.  Hut 
he  records  no  other  i)articulars  coiiccrnin;^  it,  whether  Thule  is  an  island,  or  wliether 
it  continues  haljitahle  uj)  to  the  point  where  the  summer  trojiic  hecomcs  one  with  the 
arctic  circle."  (B.  II.,  c.  v.,  8.)  Strabo's  editor  says  on  this,  that  the  summer  tropic 
heiiifr  placed  at  24  deforces  from  the  eqiiator  liy  Strabo,  and  most  jjrobably  by  P\  theus, 
the  latitude  of  Thule  or  Iceland  would  be  fixed  at  (JO  N.,  which  corresjmnds  with  the 
north  of  Iceland,  where  the  two  tro|)ics  would  join  and  become  one  To  the  forego- 
ing may  be  added  another  criticism  on  Strabo,  which  bas  an  effect  opposite  to  that 
intended,  .is  the  "marine  ,-<ponge"is  nothing  but  the  soft  ice  which  forms  in  the  north. 
"It  is  likewise  he  who  describes  Thule  and  other  neighboring  places  where,  accord- 
ing to  him,  neither  earth,  water  nor  air  exists  separately,  but  a  sort  of  concretion  of 
all  these  resend)ling  marine  sjwnge  in  which  the  earth,  the  sen,  and  all  things  were 
suspended,  thus  forming  as  it  were  a  link  to  unite  the  whole  together.  It  can  neither 
he  traveled  over,  uor  sailed  through."     (Hook  II.,  c.  iv. ,  1.) 


Arrf/j  Ewplorafinn.  5 

Tlmle,"  he  adds,  "  is  tl.e  frozen  ooeun,  which  by  some  is  ealled  the 
CroDian  sea."* 

There  has  been  a  division  of  opinion  respectins^^  the  locality  of  the 
place  forming  the  jx.int  of  departure  forTlinle,  or  Iceland.  By  some 
Scandia  is  identiHed  with  Scandinavia,  I]er<ros  with  the  modern 
Bergen,  an<l  Nerigos  as  the  northern  part  of  Norway,  thougli  Gos- 
selin  IS  of  the  opinion  that  Bergos  refers  to  the  Scottish  island  of 
Baj-ra,  and  Nerigos,  to  one  of  the  northern  promontories  called 
"Nery."  However  this  may  be,  it  is  evident  that,  in  the  time  of 
Pliny,  and  long  before,  there  were  those  who  knew  of  the  island  of 
Iceland,  which  was  readied  either  from  the  Orknevs  or  from  the 
c()ast  of  Norway.  We  incline  strongly  to  the  huter  opinion,  as 
Bergen,  in  Norway,  from  time  Immemorial,  has  been  a  point  of  de- 
parture for  Iceland. 

While  the  classic  geographer  knew  much  about  the  north,  it  is  also 
reasonable  to  infer  that  the  waters  of  the  sea  towards  New  Found- 
land  had  been  fiXMjuented  by  Europeans  engaged  in  the  fisheries,  and 
that,  by  degrees,  they  sailed  to  the  (toasts  of  Greenland  and  America. 
It  is  true  that  Iceland  appears  to  have  been  generally  unknown  to 
the  Scandinavians  until  the  year  S(i4,  but  the  peoi>le  of  Great  Britain 
were  well  acquainted  with  that  lonely  isle  long  before. 

The  earliest  known  movement  northward  from  England   was  that 
niaugu'-ated  by  King  Arthur,  about  the  year  505.     The  authority  on 
this  subject  is  Geoffrey  of    Monmouth,    who  was  bishop  of  Saint 
Asaph  in  1152,  and  who  wrote  the  lUstoria  Brltonvw,  a  work  which 
afforded  a  basis  for  the  fables  and  romances  of  the  "Knights  of  the 
Round  Table."     Nevertheless,  whoever  inclines  to  turn  fmin  all  the 
statements  of  Geoffrey,  for  the  reason  that  they  contain  much  that 
is    untrue,    should    ponder    the    well-considered    words    of    Hume, 
who  says  of  the  Prince  of  Silures:  "  This  is  that  Authur  so  much  cele- 
brated in  the  songs  of  Thaliossin   and  the  other  British  bards,  and 
whose  military  achievements  have  been  blended  with  so  many  fables 
as  even  to  give  occasion  for  entertaining  a  doubt  of  his  real  existence. 
But  poets,"  he  continues,   "  though  they  disfigure  the  most  certain 
history  of  their  fictions,  and  use  strange  liberties  with  truth,  where 
they  are  the  sole  historians,  as  among  the  Britons,  have  commonly 


Pliny,  H.  IV.,  c.  30. 


Arctlr  K.>'iih*rafhui. 


I 


some  foundation  for  tlioir  wildest  exau^orations." *  The  Risliop  of 
Saint  Asaph,  who  was  not  a  poet,  may  be  eredited,  therefore,  when 
he  states  siieh  simple  faets  as  that,  al)oiit  the  year  ")<)'),  Kiny;  Arthnr, 
after  the  eon({iiesl  of  Irelatid,  received  thcf  siihmission  of  the 
Orkneys  and  saih'(l  to  leehind,  "  whieh  he  also  sulnlned  ; ''  at  a  sul>se- 
(pient  period  overeomino-  his  foes  in  Norway.!  I'he  eompiest  of 
Ireland  cost  nMi<*h  bloodshed,  but  that  of  [celand,  if  he  went  there, 
must  have  been  made  without  a  strnt^gle,  since  at  that  period  there 
coidd  not  liave  been  men  enough  to  make  any  great  resistance.]; 

Ilakluyt,  treating  this  matter,  ((notes  from  (lalfridus  Monume- 
tensis,  who  says  that,  after  subduing  Treland,  Arthur  went  to 
Iceland,  and  "  brought  it  ami  the  people  thereof  under  his  sabjee- 
tion."j<  The  same  author  mentions  "Maluasius"  as  "King"  of 
Iceland,  and  tells  of  soldiers  that  he  furnished. ||  Tiie  "King," 
however,  may  l)e  redueod  to  a  figure  of  speech,  while  there  eonld 
liave  been  no  soldiers,  unless,  indeed,  Arthur,  as  elsewhere  stated, 
transported  people  to  the  north.  iTakluyt  also  (juotes  Land)ord,  to 
the  effect  that  Artliur  made  his  way  to  ftreeidand  ;  •;  but  we  ean 
understand  how  tlui  statement  originated,  since  the  map  of  Ptolemy 
ma<le  (Ireeidand  a  western  extension  of  Norway,  the  jtosition  of  the 
country  being  n\isnnderstood.  It  was  very  easy,  therefore,  for 
modern  (chroniclers  to  suppose  that  Arthur  took  Greenland  on  his 
way  in  his  expedition  to  Norway;  lience  this  error. 

Waurin,  who  wrote  in  the  I4th  century,  before  the  influence  of 
Ptolemy's  maps  was  generally  felt,  does  not  mention  Greenland, 
though  he  says  that  Arthur  carried  the  war  into  Iceland  and  fought 
with  the  Icelanders,  whom  lu^  bro\ight  into  subjection.** 

Geoffrey  of  Monmoutii  does  not  allude  to  (Treenland.  Neverthe- 
less, he  is  our  authority  for  the  statement  that  Arthnr  went  to 

*  Hume's  Engliind,  I.,  p.  88.     lul.  1S33. 

f  GeotVrev's  History,  B.  IX.,  c.  10. 

X  In  the  year  !)70,  voy!ijL;,ers  from  Iceland  foinul  money  on  an  island  at  the  wewt. 
See  "  Pre-Columhian  Discovery  of  America  l»y  the  Xorthmen.'  Munsell, 
18(18,  p.  14. 


^  Navifiations,  I.,  1. 


ma,  T.,  2. 


IbkL 


**  In  Chroni<iues,  I.,  Lib.  HI.,  c.  xix.,  p.  ^70,  we  rend;  "  Kt  puis  transporta  le 
Roy  Artus  sn  l)atnlle  en  yrlande  ou  parevillement  il  se  combaty  et  victorya  les  Islan- 
dais  et  myst  en  sa  subjection."  '  ' 


>]\oy  of 
;,  wluMi 
\rthnr, 
of  tlu' 
I  s\il>s«'- 
liu'st  ol" 
t  then', 
il  tliertj 

lonunu!- 
vont    to 

iiiir ''  ot 
'  iviuti," 
re  could 
V,  stated, 
ihord,  to 
t  wi'  <'an 
Ptoloiuy 

n  ot"  the 
[fori',  for 

1   on  l>is 

Moiice  of 
ircoiiland, 
Id  fou<4ht 

leverthe- 
weut  to 


lit  the  west. 


[ansiMM'tii  le 
III  lea  islan- 


Arrffc  fj.i'idin'othni.  7 

Iceland.  It  is  poHsihle  that  tlie  liish'jp  of  St.  Asaph  inferi'td  that 
the  northern  island  visited  was  Iceland,  and  it  is  also  possilde  that,  in 
such  a  case,  he  may  have  been  in  error  ;  hut  this  treatment  of  his 
statemetit  is  not  re((uired.  That  Arthur  could  have  sailed  to  Iceland, 
admits  of  no  (h)ul)t  ;  nor  is  there  any  reason  f(»r  holdinuj  that  there 
were  no  inhaltitants  there  in  fjOr*.  The  fact  that  the  Northmen  found 
only  a  few  monks  in  Iceland  in  804,  (h)es  not  j)rove  that  the  same 
was  true  2r)()  years  earlier.  liedc,  wlio  died  in  725,  knew  of 
Iceland  ;  *  and  the  Prologue  of  the  L<nidintni<ihok  speaks  of  both 
Irish  and  English  books  found  there  when  the  Northmen  arrived. f 
Dicuil  teaches  that  monks  were  in  Iceland  in  70r»  ;  for,  writing  in 
S'25,  he  says  that  thirty  years  had  passtid  since  some  clerks  {elerici), 
who  had  dwelt  in  the  island,  told  him  certain  things.  He  also  says 
that  those  who  in  their  writings  had  <lescribed  Iceland  as  sur- 
rounded by  a  sea  of  ice  were  (juite  wrong,  and  he  proves  the  truth 
of  his  own  account  by  the  testimony  of  "clerks  who  iiad  voyaged  to 
this  island."  He  admits,  however,  that  in  voyages  to  the  north  of 
Iceland  "  they  have  found  the  sea  frozen."];  Dicuil  also  testifies 
that  there  are  numerous  islands  two  days  and  two  nights  to  the 
nortli  of  Britain,  and  that  a  "  Religious,  worthy  of  faith,"  told  him 
of  a  visit  made  by  hini  in  a  small  boat  to  one  of  these  islands, 
which  nearly  a  hundred  years  before  was  inhabited  by  Eremites,  from 
Scotland.  Rut  Dicuil  says  that  these  regions  were  al)an(h)ned  on 
account  of  the  ravages  of  the  northern  ])irates,  who  were  as 
innumerable  as  "  the  birds  of  the  sea."  Thus  it  appears  that 
Iceland  was  well  known  to  the  people  of  the  British  isles  long- 
before  it  was  inhabited  by  men  from  Norway,  and  we  can  readily 
understand  how  the  popidation  that  probably  existed  in  Arthur's 
time  may  have  been  reduced  by  piratical  incursions,  until,  in 
804,  the  Norwegians  found  only  a  few  anchoretes  dwelling  there. 
The  narrative  of  Geoffrey  of  Monmouth  is,  therefore,  perfectly 
consistent  with  known  facts,  and  the  expedition  of  Arthur  to 
Iceland  may  be  regarded  as  historic. 

It  is  now  apparent  that,  in  the  century  before  Dicuil  dated  his 


*  Antiquitateit  Ameincamv,  p.  202. 

f  Ibid.,  205,     De  menstia  OrMs  Terrae,  Letronne's  Ed.,  p.  38. 

X  DM. 


A  rfffc  A\i'pf<'ivff/(»i. 


i 


l»()((k,  tlu'  liritisli  islaixis  wort-  in  coiniiumicjitioii,  :iiul  cliictly  tliidUf^h 
the  medium  oT  the  mcjiiks,  who,  as  is  well  known,  were  l)ol<l  and 
skillliil  sailors,  |)ushin<;  i'ai-  out  to  sea  in  boats  of  wicker  or  liide. 
How  lo:Jg  this  (;onimuni(ration  was  kept  up  by  them  ('ann(»l  now  be 
dt'torniinod.  It  is  probable  that  it  was  never  suspended.  The 
An,u:]o-8axon  inaj>  ol'  the  tenth  eentury  shows  that  the  sailors  and 
geographers  of  England    were   aecpiainted   with   the   Northern   sea. 


i    if'    ■■'*•'          "•'•"'llr 

fctj 

^Ei 

ili-^ 

1 

it 

^ 

M, 

|[ 

LiTW.tl>f 

i 

."■-ii 

WW 

C^^,^ii-  4v:: 

X9 

i 

E^m 

TjI 

^  -^  ^Wii'^JDi^^rv 

^^ff<^>-^ii?^Nr^i^*fLy^ 

Tlif  An^^lo  Suxon  Mup. 

Beyond  Iceland  was  the  open  sea,  into  which  DicniTs  informants, 
the  Religious,  wliom  he  styles  "clerks,"  had  so  boldly  sailed,  until 
they  i-eached  the  barrier  of  ice  whicli  bars  the  course  of  tlie  ex[)lorer 
to-day. 

We  bave  already  seen  that  Arthur  did  not  visit  Greenland,  yet 
that  that  part  of  the  north  was  reached  about  the  time  of  Arthur, 
admits  of  little  doubt.  It  is  true  that  the  discovery  of  Greenland 
lias  generally  been  assigned  to  the  pei'iod  of  Eric  the  Ked,  who  went 
to  Greenland  in  0'^.5,  yet  a  Bull  of  Pope  C4regory  IV^.,  dated  770, 
refers  to  (irreenLiiid.  The  genuineness  of  this  Bull  cannot  l)e  ques- 
tioned, nor  is  there  any  reason  to  suppose  that  the  reference  to 
.  Greenland, was  interpolated.  The  Bollandists  may  indeed  think  that 
there  is  some  mistake,*    but  the  explanation  is  easy  and  natural. 


*  This  is  a  matter  of   [H'ivate  int'orniation,  l)iit  tlie  autiior  cannot  learn  that  the 


when  wo  take  into  POTisKlcrafi.ui  tlic  known  activity  of  inaiitiTnc 
ontcM-priso  prior  to  Kii,-  tlic  R,.,l.  In.l.-ci,  the  Fivlamlic  clironidcs 
distinctly  say  that,  Iialf  a  century  l)cCorc  the  voyaijc  (.f  Kric,  a  trrcat 
country  was  known  at  the  west,  hcinjr  caUcd  "  Ireland  the  (iivat." 
Itwoidd  seem  that  thisc(Mnitry  was  first  reached  l)y  the  Irish,  whose 
prior  dis(rovery  was  conceded  by  the  Icelanders..  The  Irish  had 
described  it,  evidently, as  aland  of  venhire,  while  the  Sa-^a  says  that 
Eric  aj)f)lied  the  name  of  "  Greenland  "  to  the  part  he  visited,  not 
fnmi  ar.y  fitness,  I»nt  from  motives  of  policy,  sayinir  that  "  men 
would  he  persuade*!  t(.  go  t<.  a  land  with  so  (rood  a  iiamc."  It  is  no- 
whore  protended  that  the  name  •'  Greenland  "  orisrinatc.I  with  Kric. 
His  (,wn  account  imlicates  tliat  Europeans  had  visited  (Ireenland 
before  his  time,  which  leads  to  the  conclusion  that  the  Irish  had  been 
in  the  country,  and  that  the  reference  to  Greenland  in  the  Jbdl  of 
770  is  correct.* 

In  the  year  IIS7,  (iiraldus  Cambreir-is  wrote  liis  T<^m<iraph'ia 
Hihenih'H,  and  in  this  work  he  speaks  of  Iceland,  which  is  described 
as  a  great  island  three  ihiys'  sail  northward  from  Ireland.  The 
people  are  re{)resented  as  of  few  words,  but  truthful.  (iiraldus 
shows  that  he  uiulorstood  sonu'thing  of  tlie  nature  of  their  govern- 
ment, in  saying  that  their  i)riests  were  their  kings.f 

Ajjproaching  the  thirteenth  century,  the  age  appears  to  be  one  of 
maritime  activity.  Necker,  Abbott  of  Cirencester,  who  died  in  1217, 


Bollaiidists    have  \\\\\    actiiiiiiiitiiiico   with   the   ^;encnil    subject  which    won).,   {rive 
weight  to  <inv-  opit.iou  thev  iiii^'lit  cntcrtniii. 

*  Oil  tliis  |)i)iiit,  see   "  Pre-Coluinliiaii  Discovery  of  America  \)\  the  Xorthinen," 
f).   85,  and  "  Aiiti(|iiitates  Americana'  ''  on  the  Minor  Narratives. 

f  "  Est  et  \shinilia  liorealinm  insiihinim  maxima;  trinm  dienim  nntiiraliiim 
nuviKationc  in  a(iuiloiiares  piirtes  ah  Ilihernia  rcmota.  Gentem  hu'c  hrevilocinam  el 
V(  ridicam  hahet.  Raro  nauKiue  i)revi(]iie  t'nni^cns  sermnno.  juramento  tion  utitur  ; 
(juia  mentiri  non  novit.  Xiiiii  enim  magis  (luam  mendacium  detestatur.  Gens  hac 
eodem  ititur  rejro  (luo  sacenlote  ;  eodem  prineipe  (|tio  pontilice.  Penes  enim  ei)isc()pnm 
tarn  re(|ui  ((nam  sacerdotii  jura  consistunt.  Ilicc  terra  girofaicones  et  accepitres 
grandcs  et  generoses  gigtiit  e t  niittit.  Xun(|uam  liic  aut  rarissime  vel  cornscant  i'nlgara 
•  '  cndunt  tonitrna.  Sed  hahent  e  contra  ])estem  aliani,  et  ionge  mojoreni  In  anno 
naiKpie  seinel,  vel  hiennio,  ])er  ali([mmi  insula'  partem  ignis  emergens,  in  uioduni 
turl)inis  cum  vtihementia  s])ii-itus  excurrens,  (piic(]uid  ohviam  offendit  fnnditus  exu- 
rit  sed  ignis  iste  unde  causaliter  vel  infra  vel  liesuper  ortuni  hal)cat  incertum  hal>e- 
tur." — Distinctio,  I.,  c.  xiii.,  p.  95. 


10 


A  rctir  E.vpl<)r<iti<ui. 


was  acijuainted  with  the  use  of  the  compass.*  In  the  fourteenth 
century,  Bail)er  said  of  the  party  accompanying  Kinu:  Robert  of 
Seothmd  from  Arran  to  Carrick,  "  thsy  na  nedil  had  na  stane," 
showing  that  those  things  were  familiar  to  niivigators.  Here,  there- 
fore, it  will  he  necessary  to  introduce  Niciiolas  of  Lynn,  who,  in 
1;I6(),  made  a  voyage  to  the  high  north.  l)ut  before  at tenipting  the 
particular  consideration  which  seems  to  be  re<juired,  it  will  be  neces- 
sary to  glance  at  the  condition  of  northern  maritime  enterprise  (lur- 
ing the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries.  In  the  fourteeiitii  cen- 
tury  the  Hsheries  were  commonly  ]»ursued  around  Iceland,  whose 
people  were  in  regular  comnrniication  with  Ureenland.  The  Eng- 
lish also  must  have  knoww  of  Greenland  at  the  tinu',  though,  in 
common  with  the  people  of  Iceland  and  Norway,  they  did  not  appre- 
ciate t  he  importance  of  this  knowledge.  In  the  fourteenth  century, 
proof  is  found  both  in  the  Icelandic  and  English  annals  of  the  con- 
nection between  the  two  countries.  The  Icelandic  contains  indica- 
tions of  the  arrival  of  English  shi{)s,  but  it  is  clear  that  their  coming 
was  so  well  knowi;  as  to  gain  only  a  casual  allusion,  the  interest 
standing  connected  with  the  news  brought.  The  entries  wer<?  macb^ 
at  the  time,  having  since  been  extracted  from  the  numerous  writings 
for  the  convenience  of  students,  and  set  down  in  chronological  older 
in  the  hmguage  of  the  original.  Let  us,  therefore,  notice  tlu'se 
entries. 

In  l.'U!\  news  reached  Iceland  that  in  Englaiul  the  m<.italitv  wa;^  vo 
great, that  2(»(),(H>(»  persons  had  died.f  The  next  year  the  death  of 
EugMsh  sailors  at  Bergen,  in  Norway,  opposite  Iceland,  was  reportt^d, 
and  recorded  in  the  Sagas.];  This  is  all  that  we  find  at  present 
in  connectioii  with  the  fourteenth  century  in  Iceland  ;  bu>  the 
reference  of  the  Saga  to  the  grcit  mortalitv  in  Entrland  is  co'^*-'  ,iicd 
byStow's  "  AnnaL's,"  which  state  that  the  plague  readied  England 
in  1348,  touching  the  seaports  first.  TheTice,  no  <loubt,  the  news  was 
at  once  carried  bv  fishermen  to  Iceland. >J      If  the  voyages  of  the 


*  liiilletin  (le  GcngiT.pliie  1858,  p.  177.  Are  Frodc,  in  KHJH,  speiikiiii;  of  the 
visit  jmid  to  Iceland  hy  Klokc  Vii^erderson,  says  tiiat  in  thosc!  times  seanieu  had 
no  loi.dstone  in  tlie  northern  eountries.  The  Bilde  (nuot,  1150.  speaks  of  the 
loadstone  as  "  un  pierre  Inidaet  hrnmiere." 

f  "Islen/.kir  Annular,"  Hafniu',  1847,  p.  37(1.  The  lotlandie  is  as  follows: 
"  Mannfnll  ojiurlej^t  a  F.ni;!endi  sva  at  tvo  hnitdred  thousand  datt  nidr.'' 

;  IbiiL,  ti7S.  ^  ytovv's  "  Annales,"  p.   315,  K.l.  1(131. 


a( 


A rotic  Krplorafiitih 


11 


Englisli  to  Iceland  had  possessed  greater  inte'-est,  there  would  have 
been  some  more  definite  notice  in  the  Sagas.  We  are  free,  however, 
to  admit  tiiat,  early  in  this  century,  the  merchant  trade  n.ay  have 
been  small,  as  in  i;{28  Edward  III.  does  not  mention  Iceland 'in  his 
"/-•/•o  MercuTorihm  Krtran('t.^r  Nor  does  he  mention  Denmark  (,r 
Norway,  hut  these  are  included  in  the  general  language,  ''oMfruan 
alhiriim.  IVrnirn))!  et  locorum  e.rfnmonffiV*  Nevertlu-Iess,  the 
mandate  of  Edward  1)1.,  ({ated  March  ISth,  i;?r)4,  recognizes  the  fact 
that  the  king  maintained  afieel  for  service  in  the  "parts  IJoreal," 
-John  de  lladdon  being  the  A(hniral.f  It  was  probably  designed  to 
protect  the  fishermen  and  nierchants  from  pirates  around  the  nortli 
of  Britain. 

In  the  Icelaiulic  annals  of  tlu'  fifteenth  century,  tlu>  first  entry  is 
tliat  of  1407,  when  news  v/as  received  of  the  death  of  the  Arch- 
bishop of  York.]:  In  1412,  it  was  recorded  that  five  English  sailors 
had  separated  from  their  ship  and  wintered  in  the  island. -;<  In 
1413,  "  thirty  mor<!  fishing  vessels  came  horn  England."  Some  of 
them  wore  'down  to  the  northern  part  of  Iceland,  and  possibly  to 
the  (xreenland  coast. || 

In  1415,  six  English  sliips  sailed  to  I'^eland,  and  made  ihei.-  port  in 
the  Westmann  Islands.^  In  14lfi,  six  ships  anchored  in  Ilafnafiord, 
in  the  southwest  of  Iceland.**  In  1419,  many  English  ships  were 
wrecked  on  tiie  coast  of  Iceland,  and  a  large  number  of  lives  were 
lost.ff  The  amials,  in  the  present  compilation,  end  witli  the  year 
14TT0,  and  these  six  entries  are  all  that  we  find.  If  carefully  con- 
sidered, however,  it  will  appear  thatr  these  menticms  really  form 
nieiiwnihUid.  This  will  be  seen  by  turning  to  the  En<Hish  annals 
tor  the  correspouding  period.  The  first  reference  to  Iceland  in  th*^ 
Fddei'd  is  that  of  1415,  when  Henry  V.,  for  the  satisfaction  of  the 
King  of  Denmark,  ordered  that  during  the  year  none  of  his  sub- 
jects should  presume  to  visit  ar>y  of  "  the  coasts  of  the  islands  be- 
longing to  Denmark  and  Norway,  and  especially  to  the  island  of 
Iceland,"  for  the  purpose  of  fisldng  or  trading,  "  otherwise  than 
according  to  the  ancient  custom  "  {alitir  qnani  antitiuttus  jwrl  ron- 


*  Hyiiier's  Fmieni,  iv.,  JJfJl. 

t  lOkl.,  v.,  778. 

\.  Anmilar,  p.  382. 

J^  Ibid. .  !>.  380. 


II  Ibfd.,  p.  388. 
•H  Ibid.,  p.  300. 
**  Ibid.,  p.  393. 
tf  Ibid.,  p.  394. 


^mmm 


12 


I  ret/c  Explorotlon. 


\ 


stiei'-'t.'"*  This  notice  was  served  upon  the  authorities  of  the 
various  seaports  of  Eughind,  tlie  mayor  and  bailiff  of  Lynn,  Norfolk, 
being  notified  witli  tiie  rest.  Here,  then,  we  learn,  in  connection  with 
1415,  that  in  the  ancient  times  voyages  to  Iceland  liad  become  fre- 
quent. It  is  clear  from  the  complaint  of  the  Danish  king  that  the 
old  rules  respecting  traffic  had  l)ef^n  broken  habitually,  and  that  they 
were  now  to  be  observed,  at  least  for  one  vear.  01  the  exact  nature 
of  the  ancient  law  we  cannot  speak,  but  it  would  appear  as  though 
tne  prohibition  related  to  the  shore  fisheries,  wnich  they  were  not 
to  intrude  upon,  and  hence,  when  the  English  went  to  Iceland,  in 
1415,  they  harbored  off  the  coast  at  the  Westmann  Islands.  The 
arrival  of  the  sliips,  under  the  circumstances,  formed  a  noticeable 
event,  and  for  this  reason  it  was  recorded.  Tlu^  Icelandic  Annals 
add,  immediately  after  mentioning  their  arrival,  that  "  the  ships 
brought  letters  from  the  King  of  Ei  gland  to  the  people  and  the 
chief  men  of  Iceland,  to  the  effect  that  license  should  be  accorded 
to  transact  I)usiness,  and  especially  that  relating  to  the  king's  own 
ship."  The  Annals  state  tliat  the  matter  was  duly  arranged.  It 
will  be  noti(^ed,  too,  that  one  of  tliese  ships  beh)nged  to  the  King  of 
England.     It  was  evidently  a  cruisei-  of  the  royal  navy. 

There  is,  then,  a  complete  agreement  between  the  English  and  the 
Icelandic  Annals,  both  showing  that  an  Englisli  iieet  visited  Iceland 
in  1415 — a  circumstance  which  should  go  very  far  ;o  estal)lislt  the 
general  value  and  (  redibility  of  those  records  of  a  distant  age.f 

In  1410,  the  English  were  again  in  Iceland,  but  the  Juidira  does 
not  mention  voyages  until  14;{b,  when  Henry  W.  issued  a  license  to 
John,  the  Icelandic  Bisho})  o<"  Ilelem,  then  in  London,  authoi'izing 
him  to  engage  John  May,  with  his  ship  "Catherine,"  for  a  voyage 
to  Iceland,  where  May,  evidently  an  old  voyager,  was  to  act  as  his 
attorney,  and  transact  certain  business  for  him,  the  Bisho}>  himself 
not  wishing  to  undertake  the  voyage.|  In  14.'5(),  Ivichard  Weston, 
of  London,  a  "stockfishmonger,"  was  well  known  by  the  Icelanders.J^ 

*  Foidera,  ix.,  :322. 

f  Tliis  agreeini'iit  hc-tweeii  the  Eii{;lish  ami  kcliunlic  niithorities  r.pjJCiirs  to  ha 
pointed  out  iio\>  for  tlie  (ii>t  time 

X  Fu'dera,  x.,  045  and  059.     Kd.  187T. 

5^  iWrf.,  X.,  703.  Tliese  supplies  were  sent  to  the  Bishop  of  Skalholt.  who  alone 
was  authorized  by  the  Synod  of  Deninarl;  to  supply  tlic  eleiuents  of  the  sacrameuts 
to  the  churches.  8ee  "  Kircheii<:efclii(lite  von  Danenuirk  und  Norwe^an  " 
(MUnter),  ill.,  10. 


of  the 
N^orlolk, 
on  witli 
)\ne  fre- 
that  the 
lat  they 
t  nature 
,  thougli 
ere  not 
land,  in 
s.  The 
iticeable 

Annals 
le  ships 
and  the 
iccorded 
iti's  own 
ujed.  It 
Kinu  of 

and  the 

leehnid 

ilish    the 

'ira  does 
i cense  to 
horizing 
voyage 
lit  as  liis 
>  himself 
\V  eston, 
landers.vj 


ears  to  be 


who  alone 
iucnuneuts 


Arctic  .E.i'ploratioii. 


13 


In  1440,  Ilonry  Y\.  sent  two  ships  to  Iceland,  with  supplies  to  be 
exchanged  for  such  commodities  as  the  inhabitants  j)ossessed.  It 
was  feared  tliat  without  this  aid  from  England,  the  sacraments  even 
wo(dd  be  omitted,  there  l)eing  neither  wine  nor  salt  in  the  country, 
and  only  milk  and  water  (A/cr^  (O/tnnu.)* 

Ih  connection  with  the  year  1445,  another  voyage  is  indicated  by 
the  Admiralty  Black  Jiook,  action  having  been  taken  agains,,  Wd- 
liam  Byggensa..,  and  two  men  of  Lynn,  who  visited  Iceland  in  a 
"  dogger,"  called  the  "  Trinity,"  and  kidnapped  a  boy  vhom  they 
brought  to  Swetesham  and  hehl  in  servitude,  contrary  to  law.  f 

In  1450,  a  treaty  was  made  between  the  Kings  of  Denmark  and 
England,  which  prohibited  trading  in  Iceland  ;  but  a  special  provi- 
sion of  l^irliainent  exempted  Thomas  Canynges,  Mayor  of  Bristol, 
from  the  prohibition,  in  consideration  of  his  great  services  to  Iceland! 
He  was  accordingly  allowed  to  send  two  ships  thither  to  load  with 
fish  or  other  commodities.  His  traur,  with  Iceland  was  a  matter  of 
general  knowledge,  and  throws  additional  light  upon  a  certain  remark 
by  Columbus. 

To  avoid  interrupting  the  course  of  the  narrative  respecting  Ice- 
land, allusion  to  the  voyage  of  the  Zeno  Brothers  was  omitted  in 
its  proper  chronological  place.  'V\\h  voyage  was  made  {o  Green- 
land, and  a  part  of  the  Ameiican  coast  called  Estotiland,  and 
Drogeo  ;  but  it  is  not  desirable  to  dwell  upon  such  a  familiar  theme 
here.  It  sufTices  to  say,  whatever  may  be  the  obscurity  of  portions  of 
the  narrative,t  hat  its  authenticity  never  would  have  been  questioned, 
if  it  had  been  undersfood  that  at  the  time  the  voyage  was  made  the 
seas  at  the  north  and  west  were  well  known  and  frequented,  of 
which  fact  ample  j»roof  has  now  been  given.  The  Zeno  Map,  pub- 
lisluMl  with  the  narrative  in  l5oS,  shows  that  the  Zeno  family  had  a 
knowledge  of  Greenland  that  could  have  been  obtained  only  dur- 
ing the  pre-Columbian  times.  I 

t  "  Item  (juod  Willeliiins  Hv^^;,'enmne  lie  LSiietoshiiiu  iniigister  riijusdeni  iiavis 
vocata-  le  'I'rinyt.',  diotn'  viilgariter  dogger,  Johannis  Pigot  ct  Keiirid  Sorysin  de 
lieiina  Kpiscopi,  circa  festiiiii  Kxiiltacionis  Sanctiv  Crncis  anno  'licti  regis  vicesinio 
tertio,  cepit,  umini  piierain  in  partilius  de  I.siandia,  et  ipfurn  diixit  in  dictii  tiavi  ad 
ilmlctn  usque  Suete.sliarn,  adsihi  .scrvicnduni,  contra  statuta  regiu  in  hoc  parte  facta." 
—Monummta  Juridica  (Biacli  Hook),  I.,  273. 

X  On  Zeno,  see  "The  Sailing  Directions  of  Henry  Hudson,"  p.  .'5 ;  "The  North- 


u 


1  rdic  K.i'ph>ri't'n>n, 


\f,  i 


,1 

Si' 


111  this  eoniu'ctiuii  tlio  iiivostij^ator  must  not  overlook  the  voyage 
of  Skolnus  tlie  Pole,  whicli  took  place  in  1476,  Hakluyt  says 
that  this  voyage  is  mentioned  by  Gemma  Frisius  and  Giiava.*  It  is 
certainly  referred  to  on  an  ancient  globe  of  about  1540,  jtreserved  in 
Pan  and  known  as  the  IJouen  Globe,  whereon,  near  the  northwest 
coast  of  Greenland,  is  a  legend  declaring  that  Skolnus  reached  that 
})t>int  in  1470.  'J'his  globe  seems  to  antedate  Goniara  (155o),  the 
earliest  author  that  the  writer  has  been  able  to  consult. 

Next,  attention  should  be  directed  to  the  voyage  of  Coliinilius,  of 
which  the  Genoese  himself  gives  the  following  account: 

"  III  the  month  of  February,  1477,  I  sailed  a  huiKb'cd  leagues  be 
yond  the  island  of  Tliyle,  the  southern  part  of  which  is  distant  from 
the  equinoxial  73  degrees,  and  not  0'},  as  some  wish  it  to  be  ;  nor 
does  it  lie  u])0ii  the  line  wliere  Ptolemy's  west  begins,  but  much 
more  toward  the  west.  And  to  this  island,  whicii  is  as  large  as 
Kngland,  the  English  come  for  traflic,  and  especially  thost'  of 
Bristol.  And  at  the  time  I  >vas  there  the  sea  was  not  fro/en,  but  in 
some  ])laces  the  tide  rose  26   fathoms  [feet],  and   fell  the  same."f 

men  in  Maine,"  y.  iJO.     Also  a  i'uil  diseusslon  of  the  suhject  in  tlie  Hakluyt  Sooietv'b 
edition  of  the  voyage,  edited  i)y  Major. 

*  Hal<luyt  makes  liis  reference  in  a  {general  way,  giving,'  neitlier  rlniptcr  no;- 
)>nj;e.  Frisius  published  "l)e  Prineijiius  Astronoinia' iS:  Cosmoj^rapliiic,"  &o.,  in 
ir);{0.  The  "  (  osniographaia"  of  llieroniino  Girava  was  i)rinted  loOtt.  Goniara 
mentions  vSkolnns  in  his  "  Historia,"  e.  xxxvii.,  Kd.  I.mJJ.  See  "Tlie  Sailing 
Direi'tions  of  Heiny  Hudson,"  p.  3'?,  in  connection  with  WytHiet  and  ronianns. 
For  Hakluyt,  see  Maine  Coll..  S.  3,  Vol.  11.,  jt.  W^. 

f  The  Italian  runs  as  follows  :  "  To  navigai  I'anno  14T7.  nel  niese  di  Feinait*  oltra 
Tile  isola  cento  leghe,  la  ciu  parte  Anstrale  e  lontana  dall'  Kipiinottiale  sett^nitatrc 
gradi,  et  non  sessantntre,  I'ome  alcuni  vogliono :  ne  gitce  dentro  dclla  linen,  chc,  in- 
clude lOccidentc  di  Toloineo,  ma  (■  inolto  piu  Occidentale.  VX  a  (juest' isola,  die  c 
tanto  granile  come  I'lnghilterra,  vanno  glTngl -si  con  le  loro  mcrcatantie,  special- 
inente  i|iie!li  di  Bristol.  Et  al  teiii|X),  die  io  vi  aiidai,  non  era  coiigelelate  i!  mare  die 
in  aUnni  luoglii  ascendena  ventesi  hraccia,  et  discendena  altro  taiiti  in  altc/,/.r.."  (His- 
toria del  S.  ]).  Fernando  (.oloink).  1571,  c.  iv.)  "  Hraccia ''  is  evidently  a  clerical 
error,  as  the  original  Spanish  will  doubtless  show,  if  ever  found.  That  Colimibus 
was  familiar  with  the  map  in  the  I'tolemy  of  14Ht),  showing  the  northern  regions, 
with  Gieenlaud  iis  an  extension  of  Eurojie,  can  hardly  lie  doubted.  His  remark  re- 
specting Thyle  ap|)ears  to  lie  intende<l  almost  as  j:  correction  of  this  map.  on  which 
the  Orcades  and  Thyle  are  laid  down  north  of  Scotland,  Thyle  being  in  (W  N., 
while  it  ajipears  again  further  north  as  "Islandia.''  This  double  representation 
of   Iceland  on  the  niaj)  was  a  blunder,  that  island  l>cing  laid  down  first  according 


A  rrtic  Krjdomtloii . 


15 


It  1% 


W  .ocvor  wrou.  iho  lif.  of  the  Ad.niral,  tl.ero  is  ,...  ,,uostion 
but  tlut  he  made  th.  voyage.  Finn  Magnusncn  has  pointed  out  an 
interestmir  confirmation  of  the  statement  of  Columb.is  respectin-r 
the  m.  d  weather  in  147V,  where  lie  sliows,  from  the  annals,  the  rc" 
niarkable  fact  that  in  1477  snow  had  not  been  seen  at  Evafiord  in 
the  nortli  of  leehmd,  as  late  as  March,  f 

To  this  period  belongs  the  voyage  of  Robert  Aleock,  of  Il.dl, 
who,  in  1478,  was  commissioned  l>y  Edward  IV.  to  send  a  ship  of 
240  tons  to  Iceland,  which  was  "  to  reload  with  tish  or  other  goo<ls."t 
lie  was  licensed  again  in  14S;J. 

Chaucer,  in  the  i)roIogue  to  the  Canterbury  Tales,  shows  by  his 
"Shipman"  something  of  the  activity  of  the  British  sailor  in  the 
time  of  Nicholas  of  Lynn.     It  is  said  that, 

'■  Of  niro  conscience  tuke  lie  no  kepe, 

But  of  Ills  craft  to  recken  wel  liis  tides, 

His  strenies  and  liis  strandes  Iiim  he.sides, 

His  Heri)er\ve,  his  nione,  and  his  lodcninn-e, 

'J'''<5''  'Viis  non  swiclie  from  Hull  unto  ("arta-re  •  " 
wJule  °    ' 

"  He  knew  wel  idle  the  ha\ens,  as  they  were, 
Fro  Ciotland  to  the  ('ape  de  Hnistere." 

An  indication  more  to  our  present  purpose  is  found  in  the  poem 
on  "the  Pohcie  of  Keeping  the  Sea,"  which  belongs  to  the  middle 
of  the  15th  century.      At  that  time  the  northern  region  was  so  well 
known  that  the  author  of  the  poem  dis])oses  of  tlie'^subjcct  briefly  : 
"Of  Isla'id  to  write  is  little  nede, 
fSave  (if  stockHsh  ;  yet  I'orthsooth,  indeed, 
Out  of  Hristowe,  and  coMex  luani/  one, 
Men  have  practiced  l.y  needle  and  stone 

to  I'tolemy,  and  then  acc.rding  to  the  prevailing  ideas  of  the  dav.  This~^ir 
nnty  of  the  map  entitles  it  to  interest  as  a  Coln.nl.ian  map,  thon^h  the  feature 
referred  to  does  not  appear  to  have  l)een  remarked  upon  hitherto 

7-,)  '^!l^Vr"  '"■"'"'"''  ^'■'""  ^^'  Annals  hy  Finn  Magnussen,  in  -  JVorrlM 
JuM-nftfov  Olkyndiylu'dr  Vol.  II.,  p.  129.  Ithasheen  suggested,  though  without 
reason,  that  the  voyage  of  Columbus  was  nmde  in  14G7.  See  Harrow's  "Chrono- 
bgieal  H.Story,"  p.  20.  Colu.nbus  gives  the  wrong  latitudes  for  (he  places  visited 
Imt  this  may  he  the  fa.ilt  of  the  editor  ;  while  Humboldt  snvs  that  they  were  not 
the  result  of  his  own  observations  during  a  rough  wintry  voyage.  ^^^  Examci 
UUique  11.,  115,  and  V.,  214,  n..  In  1.550  a  Bristol  ship  was  lost  at  Iceland  See 
Harrett  s  Bristol. 

X  Fcedera,  XII,,  94. 


■■^ 


10 


A  rrtic  E.i'plordtlon . 


I" 


'I'liidcr  wiinles  witliiii  ii  little  while 
Within  twelve  yerc,  nii<l  without  pci'iU 
Got)  and  conic,  as  uienwerc  loont  of  old 
Of  Scarl(orou<;h  unto  the  costes  cold."* 

Thus,  iit  the  tinic  when  the  poet  wrote,  liristol  had  revived  lier 
old  enterprise.  The  niai-itime  enterprise  of  this  period  is  greatly 
underrated  by  Mr.  Fronde. 

The  sketch  tlius  t^iven  of  maritime  entorinuse  towards  the  north, 
and  especially  during  the  14tii  and  15tli  centuries,  is  quite  general.  It 
would  be  easy  to  swell  the  citations  from  \arions  sources,  among 
which  may  be  mentioned  the  voyages  to  tlie  west  of  Ireland  so  well 
known  to  Columbus,  as  his  biogra|»hy  proves.  Yet  enough  has  been 
said  to  show  the  real  character  of  the  period  in  which  Nicholas  of 
Lynn  flourished.  The  times,  both  before  and  after  the  general 
date  assigned  to  his  voyages,  were  marked  by  great  activity,  and 
expeditions  to  the  nortli  were  so  common  that  neither  the  Knglish 
nor  the  Icelanders  took  the  trouble  to  mention  them,  except  when 
they  stood  connected  with  circumstances  of  particular  interest. 
The  intercourse  between  Iceland  and  England  w^as  so  frecpient  that 
sailors  like  John  May,  who  served  as  the  representative  of  the 
Bishop  of  Holem,  must  have  ac(piired  a  fair  knowledge  of  the 
language  spoken  in  that  distant  isle.  Indeed,  at  one  time,  under  the 
Normans,  the  Icelandic  tongue  gave  a  person  the  advantage  at  the 
courts  of  both  England  and  P^ ranee. f 

But  enough  has  been  said  to  prove  that  the  voyage  of  Nicholas 
of  Lynn,  in  13G0,  formed  no  novelty.  It  was  the  alleged  circum- 
stances attending  his  voyage  that  rescued  his  name  from  oblivion. 
His  actions  take  their  place  with  entire  naturalness  in  the  annals 
of  Ins  age,  there  being  nothing  in  the  nature  of  the  voyage 
towards  the  Pole  to  challenge  belief.  But  it  Avill  be  proper  here 
to  speak  of  Nicholas  himself. 

Qua'Mt  Andrew  Fuller,  in  his  Worthies  of  England,  says  tl)at  no 
county  "doth  carry  a  fajt  and  gallavt  more  higli"  in  maritime 
affairs  than  Norfolk;  and,  in  speaking  of  the  seamen,  bids  "none  be 
offended  if  a  friar  be  put  in  front  of  all  the  rest."  The  friar  alluded 
to  was  Nicholas  of  Lynn.]; 


*  lliiMuvt.     Vol.  I.,  p.  201.     Ed.  jr)9i»-lfi00. 

f  l>aiiijj;'s  IIeinisk»-inghi,  Vol.  I.,  chap,  viii.,  p,  (il. 

\  After  writing  the  greater  portion  of  this  paper  we  chanced  to  tind  two  other  men 


irr//<-  I'J.,'j)/(„'(/f/'(,„^ 


17 


-  n.  .s  „IuaI  was  l,on,  i„  Lynn,  ^Jorlolk,  at  tl.c  en.l  of  ,h.  tlm- 
ecnth   ..nturv  or  at  the  be.nnnin.,.  cf  th.  fuurteontl..     Of  his  ances- 
tors noth.ng  .s  known,  and  hut  few  of  the  pa.-.ieuhus  of  his  li^^ 
iK,w  access.hU..      Richards,   i,.   hi,  hi.toryof   Lynn,  has  .nade   o    e 

ho.     u  they  may  be  ver.Hed.     It  is  nevertheless  certain  that  Nicll 

d.r^  "ovf'r  "u '"  '^'"""^  '"'''^''^  ■'''''  ''^-"^ '-  --^-i  '•- 

•e  H     T         ^'   "'''  ^^■^""  '^^'^'^^'"  ''.V  Chaucer,  .vho,  it.   his 

eat.se  or,   the  Astrohihe,  speaks  of  hin,   as   '' Frere  X    Lenne  " 
"reverent  clerke."*     Bale  sivs  th-.M.o  ..v     ii    _"  "'\\-^-  ""f  ""'S    ^ 
«.,.,,  .  1  '"*-  "'^^^ '^"•^'^ '"tfexceUed   ii:  anlhmete,  o-eom- 

e Uy,   uus.c  and  astrology  ;f  and  it  is  a  ^-urious  fact  that  th    N.Jh 
o  a.  ot  Chaucer's  '^Miller's   Tale''  is  represented  as  ..ossc^L^Ue 
a  ne  ac.uire.nents.     Chaucer  also  makes   him  a  stud  nt  at  ()v]o   | 
-n.n^  hnu      hende,"  o..  haudsofue  Nicholas,  and  sur.-oundh.,  h  m 
u  ith  the  implements  of  his  profession  : 

"  HLsalmagcstc  [Ptolemy]  „n.l  h„k..s  yirtc  a.„]  sn.alc 
Ills  ustrolaljie,  l(.iioi„o  for  his  m-f, 
His  aiiurini  stoues,  Inyen  fairc  aparte, 
On  shelves  coticlieil  at  iiis  I.eddes  lied, 
His  press  yeoverwi  with  a  faldiu^r  reil. 
And  all  al)out  tiieie  juy  a  -ay  sautrie 
On  wiucii  made  on  iijohtes  melodie. 
«o  sweetly  that  all  the  ehaml)ie  roii;;-  : 
And  ani;eliiH  ad  vir<;inem  lie  sony." 

Tl.e  ''Miller's  Tale"  also  indicates  the  possession  of  certain  nauti- 
cal tastes  on  the  part  of  the  hero,  and  the  device  of  the  Tub  may 
.avebecm  intended  as  a  playful  allnsion  to  sonte  atten.pted  navi..,,. 
t.on  by  Nicholas  oi  Lynn.     It  is  possible,  therefore,  thouo-h  Cha.uler 
speaks  ol  h.m  with  much  respect  in  his  work  on  the  Astrolabe,  that, 

of  the  sa„.e  name,  though  .neither  .,f  them  appear  to  have  atfae.ed  the  attention  oi' 
those  V.  ho  have  wntten  on  the  anti,uities  of  Ly.m.    First,  '•  Xieoias  de  Len,"  Ahhot 

U.ro„Kp.e  de  Matthieu,  I>aris,"T.  IV.,  pp.  ,S!)-t00.   The  seeond  is  Nieolaus  Prior  of 
Lynn   w„  entertaine.l  John  Aieo..k,  Jiishop  of  Ely,  upon  the  occasion  of  that  preh>te's 
us  c  to  the  phice.      Il.s   a.hninistration   of  the  See  of  Ely  ende.i  in  1500;  for  which 
tact     he  wnter  >s^  m.lehted    to   the  present  Bishop    <,f   Ely,    the    Hi^^ht    Hcv    Dr 
V\oodtord.     See  Libri  I^tf/ri  Scaccani,  H.,  4(i4. 

*  Chaucer's  '•  Astrolabe  "  (,he  Ed.  of  the  Chaucer  Societv)    p   'S 

■\  "Scnptoruui,"cScc.,  p.  4G«. 


I 


o  other  men 


■n 


18 


Arcfie  Exploration. 


in  this  talc,  several  versions  of  which  have  been  broujjjht  out  by  the 
Chaucer  Society,  he  makes  an  allusion  to  some  adventure  which  hap- 
pened while  he  was  a  student,  and  before  he  had  ac([uired  the  char- 
acter of  a  "reverent  derke."  It  would  appear  that,  like  Chaucer 
himself,  Nicholas  was  in  favor  with  tiie  famous  Duke  of  Lan- 
caster, 

lleilbronuer  says  that  Nicholas  flourished  about  the  year  IMSo,  and 
that  he  "ended  life"  a  cenobite;  but  wliat  portion  of  his  life  was 
spent  at  sea  does  not  appear.  It  is  possible  that  he  went  to  the  north 
with  tlie  Noi'folk  fleet,  and  it  Avould  seem  that  he  was  a  )>ractical 
navigator.  However  lontj  he  niav  have  followed  the  sea,  he  at  last 
found  grateful  repose  witliin  tlie  cloisters  of  his  convent,  devoting 
his  days  to  science  and  religion. 

His  voyage  must  have  been  made  from  the  port  of  his  native  town 
called  1  yim  Regis.  The  town  was  one  of  great  anti^iuity,  having 
received  its  flrst  <-harterfrom  King  John,  this  being  followed  by  no 
less  than  eleven  others,  all  of  which,  with  their  seals,  are  still  carefully 
preserved.  At  a  very  early  period  Lynn  was  an  important  seaport. 
It  contained  vai'ious  com  cuts  and  churches.  The  latter,  in  connec- 
tion with  numerous  crumbling  antiquities,  render  Lynn  a  place  of 
very  great  interest.  The  thoughts  of  the  peo])le,  like  the  air  of  the 
town  itself,  were  full  of  the  ocean  bree/e,  and  even  the  monk  in  his 
cell  felt  many  of  those  sul)tle  influences  which  pervade  the  maritime 
provinces  and  in\  ite  men  to  wander  abroad.  In  the  case  of  Nich- 
olas, duty  may  have  united  with  natural  inclination  in  alluring  him 
away  upon  unknown  seas.  vVt  all  events,  he  became  a  sailor,  and,  as 
Chaucer  writes  ;  "  With  many  a  tempest  hadde  Ills  herd  be  shake." 
Thus  he  won  his  place  as  a  mariner  in  the  annals  of  his  time. 

Two  works  have  been  attributed  to  Nicholas  of  Lynn;  the  '"  fnven- 
tio  ForttiiHitit,''''  a  copy  of  which  he  presented  to  P^dward  III.,  and 
an  astronomical  Kalendar,  aclaptcil  luore  or  less  to  practical  naviga- 
tion. The  latter  is  still  preserved,  and  its  ccmtents  are  indicated  by 
Bale.  It  treats  of  the  length  of  the  days,  the  oppositions  and  con- 
junctions of  planets,  and  gives  a  table  of  eclipses  calculated  for 
75  years,  together  with  a  description  of  astronomical  instruments.* 


II 


*  '■  KiilciKliiriniii  indicnns  rornni  locum  Solis,  qnnntitiitein  (liernrn  artifioialium  et 
viil  ..iuui,  oppositiones  et  conj unctions  planetiiruiu,  &c.,  cum  tal)nlis  Eclipsium  ad  75 
imnos  et  (lescrijitione  (juorundam  instrmcntorum  astroncmicarum."     A  recent  note 


''-3 


rjor 


Cd 


Ari'ff'e  Krj)lo)'af/oii. 


10 


ihap- 

eliar- 

aucer 

Tian- 

5,  and 

:»  was 
north 
ic'ti(!al 
at  last 
voting 

>  town 

Having 
by  no 

rei'uUv 

caport. 

•onnec- 

liice  of 

of  the 

in  his 

laritinie 
Nieh- 

11  g  him 
:iii<l,as 
hake." 

I.,  and 
Inaviga- 
lited  by 
Ind  con- 
ted  for 
lients.* 

•iaUum  et 
jiuni  11(175 
Icent  note 


The  work  by  wliicjli  Nirhohisof  Lynn  will  longest  he  renieinl;ored 
is  not  now  to  be  found.  It  is  possible  that  if  a  copy  were  diseovered 
it  would  add  little  to  ins  fame.  It  may  have  api)eared  in  print  at 
the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century,  though  no  nientiou  of  its  publica- 
tion has  been  pointed  out.  Its  disap])earanc''  und'  '•  any  circum- 
stances is  not  a.  matter  of  sur))rise,  since  of  many  inijjoitant  works 
onc('  well  known  no  copy  reiuains  to-(hay,  while  of  otliers  there  ar(^ 
only  one  or  two  examples. 

Unfortunately,  we  know  almost  as  little  about  the  voyages  made 
from  Lynn  by  the  fellow  townsmen  of  Nicholas  as  about  the  hook 
in  (juestion.  Many  hardy  mariners  sailed  Uom  the  port  of  Lynn, 
hut  of  their  enterprise  at  the  north  only  the  most  scanty  memorials 
remain.  It  is  nevertheless  clear  that  their  activity  was  appreciated 
by  Edward  III.,  while  their  neighbors  of  Blakeney  were  several 
times  favored  by  that  king  on  account  of  their  su))erior  merit.*  But 
while  mention  has  been  found  of  no  particular  northern  voyage 
from  Lynn,  we  must  not  forget  the  fact  already  state*!,  that  in  141.") 
the  peojde  of  that  place  were  ordered  to  make  no  voyage  to  Iceland 
except  in  accordance  with  the  rules  observed  in  ancient  times.  Pos- 
sibly, therefore,  one  of  the  five  shii)s  reported  at  tlu'  north  in  1415 
was  from  Lynn. 

It  may  also  be  noticed  that  in  the  ancient  manuscript  records  of 
Lynn  there  is  a  reference  to  armour  for  tlu-  use  of  the  "  North  Fleet. "f 

oil  ltii<i;e  r)9  of  the  MS,  siiys  :  "  Hoc  Kuiendariuiii  fet'it  Nicholnus  de  I.ineii  Onl.  Ji. 
Mariiv  (le  Monte  Cnniu'li  inter  Leetores  S.  Tlieo!(i<ii;e  Univ  Oxon.  1IJ8(),  ad  pcti- 
tionem  et  eomplacentiain  illustcissimi  Principis  I).  Joannis  Dneis  Lniicastriu',  in- 
cipiens  iv  fine  Kalandarii  Revemli  Mafiistvi  Walter!  Klvendpii."  (Catiilon'i  Lil>orum 
Manuscriptoruni  Anj^lia'  et  Hilierniie,"  Oxford,  1(197,  No.  ()!I04  (oG),  Woitley  MSS., 
p.  213.  John  Hale  gives  the  lietids  of  tlie  IJl  eliapters  coiniiosini;  tlie  work,  anioiif? 
which  is  one  on  the  Astrolabe.  See  "  Seriptoriini  iliustrin  iiiaioris  Brytannie,"  &e. , 
Male,  1557,  p.  4(58.  J.  Bale  is  not  to  be  eonfonnded  with  Hohert,  the  Car!^:ciite  friar 
of  Norwieli,  whohecanio  n  Protestant  in  the  rei<:n  of  Kdwanl  \'I.  Heillironnei  fol- 
lows Hale  in  his  "Hist.  Matheseos  Universa-,"  Leipsie,  1742,  p.  490.  According;  to 
Mr  Si<eat  (Chaueer's  Astrolabe,  p.  7'5),  Tanner  follows  Hakluvt.  Tyrwhitt,  in  liis 
"Canterbury  'I'ales"  (p.  ()2(i),  shows  little  discrimination  in  declaring  that  Ilakluyt's 
iieeount  is  a  mere  falile.  This  is  evident  from  the  antliorities  Haklnyt  gives. 
Leland's  "  l)e  Seriptoribns,"  &('.,  may  also  be  consulted,  and  Pctsiiis' unfinished 
"  Relationvm  Historicum  de  Hebus  Anf^licis,"  I.,  .TOS  :  Paris,  the  Cramoisy  I'ress, 
1619. 

*  Hakluyt,  I.,  120. 

f  Mr.  Michael  Mitchell,  of  tlieTown  Clerk's  oflice,  Lynn,  now  known  as"Kin^'a 


20 


Arctic  KxpUn'dthm. 


/" 


TluM'u  is  one  curious  tliiuijf  to  he  uieutioued,  uiiuR'Iy,  tliut  on  certain 
maps  of  llio  Orcados,  and  notably  on  Jilack's  Atlas,  sonio  nx^ks  aro 
laid  down  north  of  Ronaldsha  as  "  Altars  of  Lina."  In  an  old  folio 
on  the  Orcados,  tlu-rc  is  the  following:  "  Tho  Altars  of  Linay  reach 
above  (piarter  of  a  mile  from  the  shore,  and  are  visible  with  low 
spring  tide,"*  Thus  far,  iiowever,  it  has  been  impossible  to  discover 
any  tradition  in  eonin'ction  with  these  rocks,  though  it  may  perhaps 
be  admissible  to  supjiosc  that,  in  voyaging  northward,  Nicholas  was 
accustomed  to  stop  at  the  Orcades,  and  tiiat  in  some  way  his  name 
became  connected  with  these  rocks,  which  formerly  must  have  risen 
high  above  the  sea,  presenting  a  marked  appearance  suggestive  of 
altars,  f 

Among  the  manuscripts  of  Sir  Thomas  Hare,  at  Stow  Hall, 
^s  one  which,  under  date  of  ManthlUth,  1;J.'37,  mentit)ns  a  ship  at 
L^  -in,  called  "  The  Petre,"  Edmund  Ferrers,  of  Wygendale,  being 

Lynn,"  writes  :  "  As  to  Nicholas  of  Lynn,  I  liej;  to  inforni  you  that  I  do  not  tiiul 
any  iniMition  of  iiiin  in  tiic  Lynn  records,  the  earliest  hook  of  entries  of  which  is 
the  'Red  Ue;j;ister  of  Lynn  ' — which  is  contemporary  with  Nicholas.  There  is,  how- 
ever, a  short  entry  in  this  reyifter  aliout  ^>;'«m/i//(7  (irmoiir  for  the  line  of  the  ''North 
Fleets  which  nniy  proliahly  refer  to  the  ecjuipnient  of  one  of  Nicholas'  expeditions.' 
(Letter  of  Octoher  I'Jtli,  1879.)  I  am  also  in<iei)te(l  to  this  j^entleinan  for  a  variety  of 
views  of  interostiny  ohjects  in  the  town.  I  am  indehted  to  the  Rev.  C.  1{. 
Mannint,',  of  Diss,  who  is  secretary  of  tha  Norfolk  &  SutVolk  Archicological  Society, 
and  the  Rev.  Edward  I.  Alvis,  of  Last  Winch,  for  infornuition  contaiued  in  Richard's 
History  of  Lynn,  Vol.  L,  p.  -ISti,  Ed.  1812.  Richards  says:  "  Like  the  f^reat  Royer 
Racon,  who  lived  aliont  half  a  century  before  him,  Nicholas  helonj^ed  to  the  religious 
order  of  Grey  Friars,  or  Franciscans,  otherwise  called  Cordeliers  and  Minor  Rreth- 
ren."  He  also  thinks  that  he  died  at  Lynn,  thouy;h  unahle  to  lix  the  year,  and  that 
he  was  hurled  in  the  dormitory  of  the  flrey  Friars  ;  and  sujj;gcsts  that  "  the  (Jrey 
Friars  Tower  "'  in  Lyini  was  used  l»y  him  in  makiny;  ol)servations.  It  would  appear, 
however,  that  Nicholas  was  a  Carmelite. 

*  "General  Atlas,"  lviinhnrs,di,  1831,  Sheet  IX. 

f  Mr.  Anderson,  of  the  Society  of  Scoltish  Antioifiries,  well  known  for  his 
knowledge  of  all  that  relates  to  old  nortiiern  anti(iuities,  writes,  under  date  of  Feh.  (jth, 
1880:  "  It  occurs  to  me  that  the  name  nniy  I.e  accounted  for  without  either  history 
or  legend.  The  old  Norse  word  Iflciii  means  a  rock  running  out  into  the  sea  like  a 
pier— a  natural  pier  or  breakwater— and  the  verb  Hlei)w,  from  which  it  is  derived, 
means  to  save  or  protect.  Hence  comes  the  name  of  the  goddess  Hlin  (the  wife  of 
Odin),  tlie  saviour  or  jiroteetress.  Hence,  also,  I  see  no  tiitliculty  in  the  origin  of  a 
mythological  name  for  natural  objects  whose  every-day  mime  was  so  like  that  of 
Odin's  wife.  Se  non  cvrroe  boi  trov<ite.'"  It  should  be  added,  however,  that  the  sub- 
ject of  tlie  monk  of  Lynn  was  not  brought  to  the  notice  of  the  above  learned  writer, 
a  re(juest  having  been  made  simply  for  some  explanation  of  the  legend  on  the  map. 


work 

corn] 

den, 

fails 

more 

upon 


4  rrlir   Ex})l oration . 


21 


master.*  It  would  be  useless  i\>  induljjje  in  any  speeulatioiis  eoncern- 
iiitj^  the  connect'ons  tliat  may  have  existed  I)et\vee!i  Nicholas  and 
John  de  Iladdon,  Admiral  of  the  Fleet  for  the  "  parts  Uoreal.'" 
The  IJritish  navy  was  founded  by  Alfred  the  Great,  and  in  the 
fourteenth  eentury  it  was,  in  a  sense,  a  recognized  institution.  In 
i;]54  de  Iladdon  ajtpears  to  have  used  both  Ilartlepdol  and  Xew- 
eastle-upon-Tyne  as  naval  stations  ;f  the  latter  beinu;  r.ot  far  from 
l.ynn,  while  the  former,  situated  on  the  coast  of  Durham,  aft'or-^  '•]  a 
most  convenient  base  for  operations  towards  Iceland,  whither,  as  we 
have  seen,  one  of  the  king's  ships  went  with  a  trading  fleet  in  1415. 
In  the  fourteenth  eentury  Kanulfus  Iligden  wrote  his  well  known 
"  Polychronicon,"  but,  though  a  contemporary  of  Lynn,  he  niakes 
no  reference  to  his  voyage.  Iligden  died  about  the  year  1:^63,  while 
the  voyage  of  Nicholas  is  set  down  for  13(50.     The  early  part  of  the 


Rannlfu?  Hiprdon's  Map,  A.D.  13W). 

work,  where  the  reference  to  Nicholas  would  belong,  was  probably 
composed  some  time  before  his  death,  and  possil)ly  prior  to  inOO.  Ilig- 
den, therefore,  may  have  known  of  Lynn  and  his  voyage,  though  he 
fails  to  mention  him.  Iligden  gives  a  description  of  Iceland,  based 
more  or  less  or.  Giraldua  Cambrensis,  and  adds  a  map  of  the  Avorld, 
upon  the  northern  part  of  which  Iceland  appears  as  "  Tile." 

*  "  Third  Report  of  the  Koyal  Commission."  (1872),  p.  351. 
t  Fmhra,  v.,  778. 


>>» 


\ri'tl<-  HxfdiU'dtiini. 


3 


'I'i 


IC  ('ill' 


lit'sl  allusions  to  the  Int'nitlo  Foi'tiinntti  of  Ijvim  is  found 


ii|iuii   the  JiiiirLrJ!!   of  a    niiip  by  John  Ruyscli,  vliidli  appeared  at 
Rome  ill   the  I'toh'iny  of  150W.     On  this  map  is  a  h'<feiid  somewhat, 


to    the  lollowiiii;  <'tVect 


It  is  written    in    the  Ilook  of  the    For 


tiinate    Discovery  that,  iiikUt  ilie  Arctic   Pole,  there  is  a  hii^h  inag- 


tif'tic  rock  ;{.'{  (4erman  niih's  in  circiinifereiice. 


'1^1 


IIS  issurroiiiK 


h-d  1 


»v 


the  fluid  suirenuin  sea,  that  as  a  \ase  pours  out  water  liy  four  mouths 
from  hclow.  Around  are  ishinds,  of  which  two  are  inhahitcd. 
.Mountains  vast  and  wide  surround  thesi-  i>lands,  'J4  of  whicii  (h-ny 


lia 


hitat 


ion  to  man. 


'This  woidd  seem  to  indicate  that  the  hook  written  by  Nicholas 


Ol 


Lynn  was  known  to  the  mapmaker,  while,  also,  it  may  have  been 
known  at  liome.  It  is  evidei't  that  tli'-  polar  reoion  was  drawn 
more  or  less   in  accordance  with   some  plan  l»y  Nicholas,  which  was 


comhined  with  later  material. 


round  tiie  inajjjnetKt  rock,  iiiimedi 


li 


at"Iy  under  the  |»ole,  arc  four  islaiuls,  "Aronphei,""  Insvia  deserta," 
"  llyperhorei  Evroj»a"  ami  "  Insvie  Deserta."  Outside  of  these 
islands  are  smaller  and  mountainous  islands,  arranged  in  a  semi-circle, 
while  the  ix-niiisiila  of  "  Pilapelaiiti,"  with  its  base  rostini;'  upon 
Kuro|)e,  pushes  out  into  this  druidic  arrangement (jf  islands,  bearing 
up  what  is  intended  to  represent  a  church,  with  tlu;   legend  "Sacte 


()<lu!H. 


Eastward  of  this  neninsiila  is  the"  Provicia  obsciira,"  and 


'he '' MaiH- Svgeiivm.'"     Westward    of    "  Bergi    uxtrema  "  anotln-r 

•'■  <iila  enters  the  group  of  islands,  whicdi  is  pier(red  by  *■'  planora 

erga"atthe   extreme  west.     The  "  Afare   Svgenvm  '^  also  Hlls 

.vest.     South  of  "  (Trvenlant ''  is  "  Terra  Xova,"  or  New  Foiind- 

•aad.     P^'om    the    "  .>rare    Svgenvm  "  the    water   flows    northward 

through  the  four  oj)enings  into  the  itolar  basin.     The  arrangement 

is  curious,  yet  not  wholly  without  resemblance  to  what  is  found  in 

nature;  for   what   is    called    the   polar  basin  is  fed  by  several   vast 

streams  pouring  into  it  from  the  warm  regions  at  the  south.    These 

streams  also  create  counter  currents,  which  flow  south.ward,  bearin<'' 


*  "Lcf^ere  est  t  I^ihro  dc  hrtioiie  fortvrmti,  svl)  polo  arctico  ky\>T'  esse  cxcelsa  e.\ 
lapide  iiiat^uete  Ji8  iniliarvm  geniianorvni  aiiihitv.  liaiic  coplectitvr  mare  svgciivm 
flvidvm  instar  vasi.s  aqva  deorsv  |)er  foramina  einetettis,  ciicv  Isvlc  svt  &  ecivihvs 
im-olvtvr  dve  ariibivnt  avtem  has  insvlas  continvi  montes  vasti  latiq  dictis.  24 
qt)  iiej^at  liominvm  liahitatio  "  This  is  obscure  and  appears  to  have  suffered  in  the 
hands  of  the  en|;raver.     Our  transhition  may  not  j)rove  very  satisfactory. 


t'olilid 

L!  Kor- 
\\  tiiiin- 
kUmI  by 
moiillis 
al>iti'<l. 
h  deny 

lolas  oi 
ve  bi'iMi 
<  drawn 
icli  was 
iiimedi- 
t'surta," 
»r  tlu'st' 
»i-circlL', 
o-  u|)t)n 
x'ai'iiig 
"■  Sactc 
•a,    and 
another 
(lanora 
ds(»  Hlls 
Foiiiid- 
•thward 

lUCCMU'llt 

Diiiid   ill 

'r:tl   vast 

IMu'se 

Itcariiii:; 

cxcelsa  ex 
sv^ciivm 

iV  ('(ivil)vs 
licr,is.    24 

iicil  in  the 


Avrtic    ICi'iilnrtltinii , 


23 


('iiornw.iis  (iiiaiitltit's  oF  the  lifavicst  ice.  NidK.las  (d'  Lynn  doidit- 
Ii'ss  iind<'rsto()d  soniclhiiii^or  this  fact,  l»ii(  if  woidd  a|.|.car  fn.in  tlic 
use  he  made  of  (iirahliis  Carnltri-nsis,  wh-)  wrote-  in  1  \^1,  that,  unfor- 
lunatcly,  ho  gave  the  anthor  of  Ti>piH/r<ip/i!<i  Ilihc'iHrd  the  credit 


\  Si'ctioii  or  llic  Map  (if  Kiiy.sili,   LVis. 

of  lteinL>i letter  infoniierl  than  himself.  'I'he  iriuidv  of  Lynn  was 
i-h'arly  indebted  to  (iriialdns  for  the  description  of  liu'  streams.  In 
tiirji   (xiraMus    refers   to  "  the    )dnh)soi»ljers  ''   who  <leseribe  thejn.* 

*  ''  Null  profiil  all  insiiU'sex  parte  horealis,  est  minis  (jiiii'daiii  iiiinmdd  voriipj.  Ad 
i|uuiii  reiiidtes  partibus  omnes  in<'"(|ues  niurini  lliictiis  taiujiu'iii  e\  'ondicto  coiifliuint 


24 


Arctic  Kxplonitlon. 


Is 


Tliis  basin  or  w}url]»ool  at  the  north,  with  the  fotir  entering  streams, 
appears  to  be  a  venerable  institution.  Yet  it  may  after  all  be 
founded  upon  what  is  observed  to-day,  in  (  inection  with  the 
Gulf  Stream  and  the  Kuro  Ciro,  and  may  be  connected  with  the 
observations  of  'lU'h  navigators  as  Pytheas,  who  went  to  the  north. 
The  magnetic  rocK  under  tlu;  pole,  on  the  m;i{)  of  Ruysch,  or 
-ather,  we  may  p.erh.ips  say,  of  Nicholas,  deserves  attt>ntion,  as  it 
has  been  claimed  that  the  monk  had  ajtplied  his  mind  to  one  of  the 
most  dlihcult  of  })roblems  and  that  tlie  magnetic  mountaiti  stands 
for  the  solution  thereof. 

The  attention  of  Humboldt  does  not  appear  to  liave  been  drawn 
to  Nicholas,  l)ut,  iii  treating  the  history  of  the  rnagnet,  the  great 
investitrator  calls  attention  to  the  fact  that  "  on  the  remarkable 
chart  of  America  appended  to  the  edition  of  the  Geogra))hy  of 
Ptolemy  ]»ul)lished  at  Kome  in  1508,  we  find  the  magnetic  pole 
marked  as  an  insular  mountain  north  of  Grventla»it."  In  15  "i, 
]\[artin  Cortez  placed  the  magnetic  pole  further  south,  as  did  Sanuto 
in  1588.*  That  Nicholas  entertained  fanciful  notions  is  not  at  all 
strange.  Sanuto  held  that  if  men  were  ever  so  fortunate  as  to  reach 
the  magnetic  pole,  they  would  experience  some  miraculous  effect. 
Columbus,  likewise.  Avas  full  of  curious  fancies,  holding  for  instance, 
that,  west  of  the  Azores,  ships  sailed  Uj)  hill  towards  the  unapproach- 
able T*ara(lise.+  It  Avould  have  l)een  a  happy  thing  if  the  false 
notions  of  Nicholas  of  Lyiui  had  not  misled  others.  First,  however, 
it  must  be  indicrited  that  the  magnetic  mountain  of  Lvnn  was  bor- 
rowed  from  the  early  philosophers  and  geographers.  Galen  rej)orts 
magnetic  rocks  on  the  coasts  of  tl)(>  Indian  ocean,  and  St.  Ambrose 
echoes  the  idea  ;  while  the  Arabic  geographer  Edrisi,  of  the 
twelfth  century,  author  of  a  Map  of  the  World,  of  the  year 
1154,  reported  a  magnetic  mountain  at  the  mouth  of  the  RikI  sea, 
it   being    12  miles  long  and   surrounded   by   islands,  acting   upon 

■  ^  —  ^ 

et  conrurrcnt :  (ini  iti  secreta  tmtiii;i>  penetralia  se  il)i  transfmlentes,  (junsi  in  ahys- 
snm  vorantur.  Si  vero  navein  hoc  forte  rransirc  eontiirerit  tiuita  rapilur  et  attraliitur 
fliictuuin  violentia  ut  earn  stutini  irrevoeahiliter  vis  vara'itatis  ahs^orlicnt.  Qiiatuor 
hujiis  modi  oceani  vora<.Mnes',  qnntuor  ajipositio  mnndi  paitil)us,  pliilosophi  descrih- 
nnt.  ITiide  et  tarn  marines  flnxos,  <juarn  etiam  ;rlieos  flatus  eansaliter  provonire  non- 
nnlli  conjeetant."— 'I'op,  Hii)ernica,  e.xiv. 

*  Cosmos,  II.,  659  ;  Examen  Critique,  III.,  60. 

f  "  Select  Letters  of  Columbus,"  p.  183. 


Arctic    E.vjtlordthm.  25 

the  iron  in  ships  and  holdintc  thorn  fast.*  In  Kuysclfs  Ptolemy  of 
1508  is  foui!(l  !i  similar  account,  the  island  beino-  in  the  possession 
of  anthropophatjfi,  or  Manioles.  It  is  surronnded  by  ten  other 
islands.  The  magnetic  attraction  was  so  powerful  there,  that  it  was 
necessary  in  building  ships  to  use  wooden  nails.f  In  these  accounts, 
as  in  the  map  of  Ruysch,  the  magnetic  island  stands  in  a  circle  of 
islands. 


KflrisiV  Map.  A.  D.  ll.M. 


*  "  Life  of  Cohimhns,"  by  Goodricli,  j).  48.     YA.  New  York,  1874. 
f  "  Feruntur  et  liir  iiliif  insii'iccotiinu'  esse  nmiicro  dfcc  Mrstiiolji'  Mi)|)ellal;<'  i|hns 
fliout  navigiii  (jiie  davo;:  t'eneos   lint  detinieri  nc  (|ii  lapis  herculeus  (jui  circa  i|>.sa 


a  ^86 


26 


[rrtie  Ki-plnr<(tl.O)}. 


The  map  of  Ruysch  alone  is  the  authority  for  ('oiM!',"'tiiig  Lynn's 
name  with  the  magnetic  mountain.  The  accounts  preserved  by 
Mercator  and  Dr.  Dee  do  not  mention  the  magnetic  rock,  the  ships 
beinf  driven  by  the  currents  or  indraughts.  Nicholas  understood 
something  of  }>olar  magnetism,  and  su]>i)osed  that  it  was  to  be  ex- 
plained by  the  aid  of  a  magnetic  island  like  that  of  Ptolemy,  and 
accordimjflv  created  one.  It  was  partially  suggested  as  hypothetical. 
Of  the  extent  of  his  actual  knowledge  in  connection  with  polar  mag- 
netism it  is  iniposj.ible  to  sj)eak. 

It  will  be  necessary,  however,  to  notice  the  blunder  into  which  the 
map  of  Ruysch  led  Humboldt,  who,  contrary  to  his  usual  custom, 
hastily  accepted  a  suggestion  found  in  Biddle's  Life  of  Cabot.  Mr. 
Biddle,  in  seeking  to  exalt  his  hero,  dwells  upon  what  Cabot  ob- 
served in  connection  with  the  variation  of  the  compass,  and  says 
that  his  earliest  transatlantic  voyage  carried  him  "  to  the  very  quar- 
ter where  it  is  exhibited  in  a  manner  so  sudden  and  striking  that 
modern  navigators  seem  to  concur  in  placing  there  one  of  the  mag- 
netic poles."  As  respects  the  locality  of  the  voyage  in  question, 
however,  there  is  much  doubt,  the  so-called  map  of  Cal)ot  being  no 
authority  on  the  sui)ject.*  Mr.  Biddle  nevertheless  continues : 
"There  is  a  curious  piece  of  evidence  to  show  how  early  the  north- 
ern region  discovered  by  Cabot  was  associated  with  the  alarm  which 
this  phenomenon  [the  variation]  must,  in  the  first  instance,  have 
excited,"  adding:  "On  the  great  map  of  the  world  which  accom- 
panies the  edition  of  Ptolemy  ])ublished  at  Rome  in  l.")()S,  is  the  fol- 
lowing inscription,"  which  he  gives  in  ]^atin,  but  "hich  is  Englished 
as  follows  :  "  Here  the  ship's  compass  loses  its  p'  operty,  and  no  ves- 
sel with  iron  on  board  is  able  to  get  away."t     On  this,  the  author 


I 


^> 


# 


gi<init  ill't  trahcret, oby  hoc  sup  truhib  eii  i  sicco  finnaii  assenit."  (Riiysch's  Ptolenn' 
of  IO08,  Lib,  VII.,  c.  ii.)  On  iniiii  xi..  I'.  Kio,  the  ishmds  are  laid  ilown,  witli  a 
le^jcnd  (■ontaiuiiif.'-  tlie  idea  already  (sx pressed.  See  also  Hersieroii's  "  Voyaj;e.s  tails 
Idiiieipalement  en  Asie,"  Toine  I.,  p.  S.j  ;  and  the  I'toleniy  of  Jiusiolli,  Venice, 
1574,  p.  ;?28. 

*  See  the  -.nthor's  article  ir  the  "Conipte  Ren('u  "  of  the  Anicricanistes,  Brus- 
sels, 1880. 

f  "  A  Memoir  of  Sebastian  Cabot,"  p.  179,  Ed.  Vji2.  The  Latin  is  as  foil  as  : 
'■'■Hie  ctnnpHSSitu  naviv.  no  tenet  nee  naves  cpie  ferriun  tenent  revertere  valet."'  No 
.Hidi  absurd  statement  .■•oultl  have  come  from  either  of  the  Cubots. 


"^ 


Arctie  Ewplorution.  2  7 

says  that  "  it  if?  impossible  to  doubt  that  the  reference  is  to  the  uell- 
known  effect  produced  there  on  the  compass.   Beneventus,  who  pre- 
pared the  supplemental  matter  for  this  edition  of  Ptolemy,  professps 
to  have  a  knowledge  of  the  discoveries  made  by  Columbus  by  the 
Portuguese,  and  by  the  English."     He  also  refJrs  to  FnMrnier,  who 
says  that  Cal)ot  marked  exactly  in  various  places  the  dipping  of  the 
needle.*     Humboldt,  in   noticing  this,   says  that  JJiddle  "  oliserves 
witli  justice,  that  a  remark  inscribed  on  the  Mappemonde  of  Ptolemy'' 
"  appears  founded  on  the  ideas  of  Cabot  relative  to  the  position  and 
proximity  of  the  magnetic  pole."t     Nevertheless,  a  more  careful  ex- 
amination  of  the  general  subject,  in   connection  with  Nicholas  of 
Lynn,  would   have  shown  Humboldt  that  there  was  no   ivference 
whatever  in  tlie  legend   to  the  discoveries  of  Cabot,  but  that  tlie 
reference    was  to  the  teaching   contained  iu   the  monk's   Inmitlo 
Fortmiati,  itself  an  echo  of  Ptolemy  and  tlie  ancients.     Biddle  says 
that  the  inscription  appears  "far  beyond  terra  nova,"  while  Huin- 
boldt  loosely  says,  "  before  or  neai-  {^>ms')  New  Foundland."     Both 
are  (luite  wrong,  as  the  legend  stands  north   of  Greenland  and  Ice- 
land, at  the  entrance  of  the  polar  sea,  evidently  being  placed  there 
for  the  reason  that  there  was  not  suthcient  room  nearer  the  ma-netic 
mountain.     Humboldt,  by  the  aid  of  Mr.  Biddle,  simply  fell  h.to  a 
blunder,  confusing  a  monastic  hypothesis  with  the  su])posed  record 
of  an  actual  ol)servation  by  Cubot.     This  error  does  not  appear  to 
have  been  noticed  hitherto. 

The  arrangement  of  the  land  ami  water  around  the  pole  on  Ruysch's 
niaj)  is  conventional,  and  it  may  be  questioned  whether  the  great 
peninsula  called  "  Grvenlant  "  was  a  part  of  Lynn's  plan.     At  all 


'vents,   he   had   ample  opportunities  of  b( 


(ireenland  when  making  his  voyage  to  the  nortl 


coming  acquainted   with 


1,  as  in  i;no  the  I 


ce- 


*  "  Memoir/"  &c.,  p.  17!). 

f  "M.  Riddlo,  uuteur  du  suvant  Mnnoir  of  Stbaxtian  Qihot,  ,jni  a  |mru  ei.  1831 
oLscrve  avcc  jiistesse  (cliai..  2(5,  p.  177-180)  <|u'iiue  rcinar,,iie  ir>sn-ite  dai.sln  Mappe- 
inoiide  de  Ptok'mee  ajoutee  a  I'edition  ron.aine  de  \rm.  re.naniue  .lapres  la.p.ell.. 
'  |>n.s  do  Tcrrc  Neuve  et  Tile  .Ic  Ha.alaiin.s,  la  l.ous.sole  ne  Rouvenie  pas,  lur  naven 
([nojerrum  tencntrn-crUre  volent,'  parait  fondi'e  mu-  Ics  idt't-s  de  CaU.t  relativcis  A  la 
position  etii  la  proxiniite  du  pole  inaoneti.nie  boreal."-  ("  Exainen  Critidne  "   MI 

;52.)  '   '        ' 


28 


Arctic  Exploration. 


landers  were  still  well  iiit'onrnd  respecting  that  country.*  rndeed, 
there  is  good  reason  for  supposing  that  the  map  of  Ruysch  shows 
less  knowledge  of  (4reenland  than  Nicholas  possessed,  as  the 
monk  was  a  contemporary  of  tlie  Zeni  and  Birdsen;  for  it  was  dur- 
ing the  lifetime  of  Lynn,  1340,  that  Ivar  Burdsen  went  from  Nor- 
way to  Greenland  for  the  relief  of  tlie  colonists  there.f 

Next  we  ])ass  to  the  map  of  Orontiiis  Fine,  of  the  year  1  "i:?!,  which 


-'; 


f  > 


f 


shows  the  influence  of  Nicholas,  as  exerted  by  Ruysch  ;  for  there  is 
no  evidence  at  hand  ])roving  that  Fine  liad  seen  the  book  called  bi- 
veiitio  Fortunatti.  J-'ine's  ma))  represents  the  circum|»>)lar  region 
com|>lete,  and  retains  the  four  iniuM-  islands  shown  by  Ruysch.  The 
outer  circle  of  islands  is  broken,  Av^'.ih'  ''Grvenlant ""  ap[)ears  as  an 
island  widely  separated  from  Asia.  Iceland  and  the  Orcades  appear 
in  their  proj)er  relativi'  [>o^,itions  ;  "  Baccalar,"  which  included  New 
Foundland  and  Labrador,  being  a  part  of  Asia,  in  accordance  witli 
the  Columbian  idea. 

The  next  trace  of  Nid  olas,  the  monk  of  Lynn,  is  found  in  the 
work  of  Las  Casas,  written  in  l")52-6],  where  he  speaks  of  floating 
islands,  and  refers  to  those  of  Northern  Italy,  mentioned  V)y  Pliny, 
and  where  he  also  mentions  the  tioating  pummice-stone  described  by 


ik 


*  "  Islenzkir  AnnAlnr,"  p.  JWO. 

f  Sec  "The  S:tilin(4  Directions  ol'  Henry  Hudson, '"  and  Banlsen'.s  Cor.nmission  in 
"  Aroti\e  liindes  Giinile  (icd^aiipliie,'"  i>.  47. 


Arctli-  Hfploratioyi, 


29 


Seneca.  Passing  from  those  oases,  he  mentions  "  eortain  ishinds 
wh.chswHn  on  the  water,"  saying  "  of  this  kind  nu.st  l.ave  been 
those,  wh.eli  are  caUed  Saint  Brandon,  in  whose  history,  it  is  said 
you  may  read  of  many  islands  that  were  seen  in  the  sea  surrounding' 
the  islands  ot  Cape  Verde  and  the  Azores,  which  are  always  in  I 
state  oi  conflagration,  and  which  must  be  similar  to  those  spoken  of 
above,  adding,  ^'  of  the  same  mention  is  made  \n  the  book  of  In- 
ventu)  Iu>rtu/iata.''* 

Nicholas  of  Lynn  also  appears  upon  the  map  of  Mercator,  1569, 
whereon  the  polar  regions  are  delineated  n.ore  or  less  i,i  aeconhmce 
with  the  conceptions  of  the  famous  monastic  voyager,  while  the  map 
shows  that  Mercator  obtained  his  information  throuoh  Cnoyen  f 


1  lu  .«,  L,k  .,  .    !),,  .,.  su  •  Natural  Ilistoria,'  .^ue  luida  la  parte  del  Se,.ten,trion. 
ocaha  la  ,nar  alo-unas  arboledas  ,ie  la  tierra.  .jue  tienon  tan  ora.ules  rai  Js,  que  la 
en.  e,,„.o  balsas  sobre  el  a.„a  .^ue  de.ic  lejos  parogen  islas.     A,,ula  a   es;o  lo  que 

.iK'e    Seneca   e„  el   hb.   III.   .ie   'Los     Naturaies.' ,,„e  hav    narura   .le   pie.h.s  tar. 

esponjosas  y  hv.anas,  <p,o  l.aeeu  dellas  en  la  India  unas  com.,  isias  que  van  nadand,, 

po.    el    agua,  y  .lesta  n.anera  debian  de  ser  las    ,,ue  di.en   8ant  Hran.lan,   en   cuva 

Ca    >    Verde  ode  las  A.ores,    que  sie.aprc  ardian  y  debian    de    ser    anno  las  que 
u  ba  solmndadu,:     ,le    lo  n.isn.o  se  l.ace  n.enciuu   en  el  libro   Ihuuado  lucenUo 
joitanata.      ihstonas.le  las  In.iias,  i„  -  Ducun.entos  ine.iitos,"  Ton..  LXII    p  9<) 
^or  tlie  passage  of  Seneca,   see  "  (Euvres  Con.plOtes,"  Tun..   VIII.,  p.   m)^^:, 
PIn.y,  Eohn'sed.,  p.  Vi2.  ' 

t  y.cvator  says;  "  TonH.in^-  tl...  description  of  the  north  partes,  I  have  taken  the 
>^a...e  out  oi   the  voyage  of    Ia,.>es  Cnoyen,  of  Hart/.euan  ]Juske,  which  allen.^eth 
;«'non^^  the    rest,  he  learned  of  a  certaine  p.i.st,  in   the   Kinj--  of  Norwaves 
J'ourt,  „.  the  yee>e  1;J(J4.     This  priest  was  desce.uled  f.on,  then  which  Kin<r  Arthur 

md  sent  to  ..habit  those  Islands,  and  he  .eported  that  in  the  yeere  l;j«0  a  certain 
i^>i;,l,sh  l-r.e.-,  a  Fianciscan,  a.,d  a  Mathematician  of  Oxford,  came  into  those  Islands 
^^"«'  Icavi...  then,,  .,nd  passin-  further  by  his  MaoioiH  Arte,  desc.-ibed  all  those 
places  that  he  M.wc,  "n.l  touke  the  hci-ht  of  then,  with  his  Astrolabe,  acconjin- to  the 
'"nr.e  that  I,  Gera.d  Mercator,  have  set  .lown  in  n.y  ,„appe,  an.!  as  I  have  tl.kcn  it 
•'Ut  ot  the  aforesaid  Cnoy.n.  lU-e  say.l  that  those  fou.e  lnd.-au;,d,ts  were  d.'awne  into 
""•"^VMnUulfoor  whiricpoole,  wM.M,  Km.t  ;i  force,  that  the  ships  which  once 
fnte.-ed  therein,  ccrM  by  .,„  „aanes  be  .iriven  back  a-aine,  and  that  there  is  never  in 

hose  parts  so  n.uch  win<le  Ih.winj;,   as  n.ight  be   sufHcieut   to  drive  a  corn  ...ill  " 
(Ihe  "Principal  Navigations,'  by  Hak!u\r,  I,,  1:23.) 

This    O.xford    friar  referred  to   by   Cnoyen,    was  none   other  tha.i   Nicholas  of 


30 


Arctic  Exploration. 


1 


Another-  roforence  to  tlie  sulijoct  is  r(Miiid  in  the  Life  of  tlie 
\(lmiriil,  horotofore  generally  attributed  to  Ferdinand  Columbus, 
The  text  runs  as  follows  :  "  Juventius  Fortijuitus  relates  that 
there  is  an  account  of  two  islands  towards  the  west,  and  a  little 
southward  than  the  island  of  Cape  Verde,  which  skim  along  upon 
the  water."*  ^iow,  if  we  are  (a)rrect,  the  writer  liere  allu'les  to  the 
[n>'e)it!o  Fortnndtn  of  Nicholas  of  Lynn,  thoui;h  the  editor  of  the 
Life  of  the  Admiral,  whoever  he  may  have  been,  makes  the  title  of 
the  book  itself  the  name  of  the  author.  It  is  indeed  possible  tiiat 
such  a  person  as  ".Inventus  Fortunatus "  wrote  on  geographical 
subjects  and  hence  was  ([noted,  but  the  probabilities  are  against  this 
view.  At  all  events,  no  such  work  now  exists  in  the  Colombina 
Library  at  Seville,  where  we  should  expect  to  tind  it,  for  the  reason 
that  the  library  in  question  is  none  other  than  the  library  of  Ferdi- 
nand Columbus,  the  reputed  author  of  the  Tiife  of  the  Admiral. 
Noi-  does  this  iil)rary  contain  the  hivtntio  Fortinmta  of  Nicholas  ; 
which  constitutes  another  argument,  such  as  it  is,  to  prove  that  Fer- 
dinand did  not  write  the  book  attributed  to  him,  or  at  least  that  he 
did  not  comj)ose  the  work  in  its  present  form.  The  catalogue  of  tlie 
Colombina  has  been  searched  diligently  for  some  indication  of  such 
work,  but  in  vain.f     An  impury  has  also  been  nnide  respecting  the 


I 


^ 


i'l 


Lvim,  I'oiu'i'rniiijj;  whose  work  soiiiethiii};  more  will  l)p  known  \vhe>>  the  t'ortnniite 
iuiti(iuar3'  driiws  ont  from  its  hidiiifx-place  the  l)ook  of  Cnoyeii,  which  Merciitor 
says  contained  his  vovaj^e  "  throniihout  all  Asia,  Africa  and  the  North,"  a  liook 
which  "  was  let! t  me  in  time  pant,  l)y  a  friend  of  mine  at  Antwerpe.'"  He  adds: 
"  After  I  had  nsed  it,  I  restored  it  afiaine;  after  many  years  I  re([uired  it  apiin  of 
my  friend,  hut  he  had  forgotten  of  whom  he  had  horrowed  it."  (Principal  Navij^a- 
tions,  "I.,  44.5.) 

*  "  Et  Inventio  Fortnnato  narra,  sarsi  mentiono  di  <Uie  altre  /sole,  volte  all' 
occidente,  &  pin  Australi,  ehe  le  Isolc  de  Capo  verde  ;  le  (luali  vanno  sopra  Taccpia 
iiutando."     (Historie  del  S.  D.  Fernando  Colomho,''  &c..  1.571,  c.  viii.) 

f  The  writer  is  under  very  ■ireat  ohlifjations  to  Mr.  Charles  H.  Kder,  United 
States  Consular  Af^ent  at  Seville,  who,  in  Fehruary,  1879,  carefully  searched  the 
catalojjue  of  the  ("lolomhina.  Though  some  of  the  books  that  once  belonged  to  this 
valuaidc  collection,  which  formed  the  library  of  Ferdinand  Columbus,  are  missin"', 
the  Inventio  Fortunat:;  does  not  appear  in  the  catalogue.  Among  the  entries  are  the 
following:  "Inventus,  Presbiier,  Atlas  de  mano,"  now  lost ;  "Fortnnato  fiol  de 
Passamonte  en  Toscano  "  ;  "Fortnnato  perisumus  glilifl  montes  pietatis,"  (Sc  ; 
'•Fortunatus,  Presbiter.  Vita  Sa  Martini." 


of  the 
ilunibiis. 
tes   that 

a  little 
\g  upon 
3rt  to  the 
r  of  the 
i  title  of 
ble  that 
graphical 
linst  this 
►lomhina 
e  reason 
)f  Fcrdi- 
rVdniiral. 
icholas  ; 
hat  Fer- 

that  he 
ue  of  the 

of  sucli 
ting  the 

fortunate 

iMeroator 

11  I  took 

Ho  lulds: 

iipiin  of 

|il  Navijj;a- 

Ivolti-   air 
a  Tafiiua 

United 
K'heil    the 
|(l  to  this 
missiiifr, 
Ks  are  the 
fiol   lie 
IS."   &v.  : 


Arctic  K.>'plnrat}(>)i, 


31 


book  of  Tvnoycn,  through  which  the  author  of  the  Life  of  the 
Adniira!  niight  have  learned  the  story  of  Nicholas.  This  work  is 
also  wanting  in  the  Colombina  catalogue.  It  is  nevertheless  clear 
that  Columbus  maile  a  careful  examination  of  the  arctic  (juestion. 
In  the  course  of  his  studies  he  might  have  seen  the  Inventio 
Fortuuata,  That  he  had  examined  the  subject  is  evident  from  his 
Memoir  or  Annotations  upon  the  Five  Zones,  in  which  he  sets  forth 
the  theory  found  in  the  "  Imago  Mundi,"  holding  tliat  the  north 
was  inhabitable,  and  proving  it  out  of  his  own  experience  in  1477.* 

In  1589,  lilundeville  expressed  an  opinion  derogatory  to  Lynn, 
holding  that  the  voyage  attributed  to  him  could  never  have  been 
performed  Avithout  the  aid  of  some  "  colde  devil.''  \ 

We  now  pass  to  the  celebrated  Dr.  John  Dee,  a  large  number  of 
whose  invaluable  manuscripts  were  destroyed  by  a  mob  at  Mortlake 
in  1583,  who  evidently  knew  the  manuscript  of  Nicholas;  and  liak- 
Itiyt,  in  1599,  gives  an  additional  testimony  from  the  Astrologer. 
It  runs  as  follows  :  "  Ano  1800,  (that  is  to  wit,  in  the  .'34  yeere  of 
the  reigne  of  the  triumphant  King  Edward  the  third),  a  frier 
of  Oxford,  being  a  good  astronomer,  went  in  comj>anie  with  others 
to  the  most  Northern  Islands  of  the  world,  and  there  leaving  his  com- 


*  The  "  Iiiiaj^o  Mundi  "  was  studied  and  annotated  liy  Coiunil)us.  'I'iic  sixth 
"  Inference  "  of  (Jhajiter  VH.  speaks  of  those  who  live  un<Ier  the  ])ole.  and  of  their 
condition.  Tiie  writer  has  found  no  traee  of  the  "  Menioria  "  on  tlie  "<  "iniiue  Zone," 
mentioned  l)v  Ilnniholdt  (Cosmos,  II.,  611),  who  appears  to  speak  loosely  in  sayinfj; 
that  "  it  i"is  now  heconio  extremely  rare."  See  also  "  Examen  Critique,"  11. ,105  ; 
and  v.,  213. 

f  The  followini;  is  IJlundeville's  account  :  "  Moreouer,  the  north  side  of  the 
proniontorye  Tahin  hiitli  TO  de;irees  of  latitude,  whic  h  place,  whatsoeuer  J'linio 
saith  thereof  in  his  fourth  liooke  of  Histories,  yet  I  heloeve  that  no  Homan  c:ime 
ever  there  to  descrihe  ye  Promontory.  Neither  doe  I  heleeve  that  the  Kryer  of  ().\- 
lord.  tiy  virtue  of  his  Art  Mai^icke,  oner  came  so  ni^^h  the  Pole  to  measure  with  his 
Astrolahe  those  cold  parts  to^^ether  with  the  fonre  floods,  which  ilercator  &  Bernar- 
iliis  do  dcHcrii)e  hothin  the  front,  and  also  in  the  nether  end  of  their  maps,  it  milesse 
lice  had  some  colde  devil  out  of  the  mid<llc  He;,'ion  of  the  aire  to  he  his  ^xuide,  ami 
therefore  I  take  then>  in  nnme  oi)inio  to  he  meer  tallies.''  (A  IJriefe  Description  of 
Vniversal  ^[appes  and  Cardes.  and  of  their  vse:  and  also  the  vse  of  Ptholeiney  hi.« 
Tallies,  hy  Thomas  Blumleviile,  London,  1580,  4to,  p.  e  2.)  The  work  of  Bernardns 
I'liteanus,  of  nru^res,  1579,  does  not  appear  to  he  known.  See  Voya;;es  of  John 
l>uvis,  p.  Ixxxviii.,  1880. 


32 


Ai'ffic  fCi-ptorafHuf, 


j);uiy  together,  Ihh'  travailod  iiloiio,  iiiid  purposely  described  all  the 
Nortlicni  Islands,  with  the  iiidrawiiig  seas:  and  the  record  thereof  ; 
at  his  returiuf  he  delivered  to  the  Kintf  of  England.  The  name  of 
which  book  is  Iniientio  Fortunata  (aliter  fortuiuu)  qui  liber  incii)it 
a  gradu  54  vfque  ad  pohirn.  Which  frier  for  sundry  purposes  after 
that  did  live  several  times  passe  from  England  thither,  and  home 


agam 


As  late  as  IGoO,  tlu'  story  <:)f  Nicholas  of  Lynn  was  echoed  by 
geographers  and  cosmographers.  Ileylin  wrote  about  the  great  rock 
at  the  pole,  and  the  four  indraughts  or  Euripi,  which  swallowed 
uj>  ships,  and  added  the  story  of  the  pigmies,  mentioned  on  Mer- 
cator's  map  of  ln4'J.f 

Among  the  maps  which  give  more  or  less  exactly  the  ideas  repre- 
sented by  Kuysch,  tiiat  made  in  1572  for  Munster,  copies  of  which 
are  found  in  Belleforest  of  1575.  Linschoten's  maj)  of  1505  faintly 
shows  the  Euripi.     The  Ortelius  of  1599  also  snows  them  faintly. 


I 


*  Ilakluyt,  I.,  132. 

f  "  Under  tlie  Arctick  Pole  is  said  to  l>e  a  Black  Rock  of  wondrous  liciuht, 
about  !)<}  li'iijiues  in  cuniimss  ;  tlie  Lan<l  adjovnin^  beini;-  torn  by  tlie  sea  into  four 
yreat  iluuds.  For  theOueiin  violently  l)reakin^' tliorow  it,  and  dis;4orj;ii)^  itself  by  19 
Channels,  nniketh  four  Euripi,  or  tierce  Whirlpools,  by  whitii  the  waters  are  finally 
carried  towards  the  North,  and  these  swallowed  into  the  Bowels  of  the  Ivirth.  'J"hat 
EuvpiuHOY  Whirlpool  which  is  ninde  l)y  tln^  Sct/fhic  Ocean,  hath  live  Inlets,  and  l>y 
reason  of  his  strait  passa^^e,  and  violent  course,  is  never  frozen  :  the  other  on  the  back 
of  Orcenlauu,  liein;;  ;]?  leagues  Ion;;,  hath  three  inlets,  and  remaineth  frozen  three 
months  yearly.  Metween  these  two  lieth  an  Island,  on  the  Nortli  of  Liippia  and 
Biaoiiia,  iidial)ited  as  they  say  i)y  Pi/(jiiHCS,  the  tallest-  of  them  not  above  four  foot 
hiyh.  A  c('rrain  Scholer  of  O.vJ'ord  roportetli,  that  these  four  Euripi  aic 
carried  with  such  finious  violence  towards  some  OiilJ\  in  which  they  are  finally 
swallowed  u]),  that  no  ship  is  able  with  never  so  stronj;-  a  Gale  to  dem  the  Current, 
and  yet  there  is  never  so  strong' a  wind  asfto  blow  a  windmill."  (*'  Cosnioj^raphie, " 
B.  IV.,  p.  191,  K<l.  l(!r)9) 

On  the  next  Jinge,  Heylin  adds  :  "But  Bluiulcville  our  Country  man  is  of 
another  o|)inion  (as  indeed  who  is  not  ?)  neither  belicvinjr  that  I'linic  or  any  other  of 
the  llo)uun  Writers  came  hither  to  describe  this  ProiuDiitorji  :  or  that  the  Oxford 
Frier,  without  the  assistance  of  some  cold  Devil  of  the  middle  region  of  the  Aire 
(and  consequently  al)le  to  endure  all  weathers)  could  ajiproach  so  near  as  to  measure 
these  cold  countries  with  his  Astrolabe,  or  to  take  the  liei>,^ht  of  this  Black  Rock 
with  his  Jacob  tStaf." 


Arcfir   J-J.t'pIorKtl'y)!. 


;<:} 


The  Mcvcator  of  Ifoiitliiis,  ItUiT,  w.-iiits  tlicin;  l)ut  tlic  ''  Fascicvlvs 
(icoLjrapliicv.s,"  of  Mattlit'w  ilwud,  iOos,  shows  tlic  Euripi  fully,  as 
(Iocs  tlie  Ilondius  of  l(il!»,  in  wliicli  thciv  is  an  allusion  to  tlu'  "  fab- 


ulous 


K 


uovcn 


yci 


{(]<>  fdhiilcKx  CiiKi-c.)  In  lo.T),  Puivlias  copied 
the  maj)  of  Ilojidius,  wlio  repeats  the  then  current  account  of  Lynn 
(III.,  024).  Further  on  (p.  S5;5)  lie  says  that  Mercator  "■  was 
abused  Ity  a  map  sent  unto  him,  of  foin-e  Kuripi  meetini;  about 
th(!  North  Pole." 

In  all  these  accounts  tlun'c  is,  however,  not hinjjj  to  impuy-ii  the  gen- 
eral statement  respectini^  tlie  voyage  of  Nicholas  i?ito  the  far  North. 
If  correctly  rei)orted,  lie  may  have  faiicie<l  that  he  knew  all  about  the 
Polo  and  that  he  had  solved  the  problem  of  the  n  agnet,  by  putting 
oneof  the  old  magnetic  mountains  in  the  north.  If  he  was  deceived, 
it  mav'  be  said  that  lu'  was  not  the  first  navisxator  who  indiilLred  ima<r- 
illation  at  tlie  expense  of  truth.  lie  is  made  to  say  that  great  tides 
drew  ships  into  a  fatal  gulf,  but  if  this  is  used  to])rovethat  he  never 
saw  the  north,  then  the  stories  of  the  Norwegian  sailors  ri'specting  the 
Maelstrom,  found  until  recently  on  many  majts,  would  indicate  that 
after  all  they  also  never  saw  the  sea.  In  the  early  times,  what  havoc 
could  not  the  cosmographer  have  made  of  the  statement  <»f  Davis, 
who  saw  tlie  northern  sea  "fallinsx  down  into  the  u-ulf  with  a  miijrhtv 
over-fall""  V  What  is  needed  is  the  narrative  of  Nichobs,  which  he 
|)resented  toP]dward  III.  This  may  yet  bedraAvn  forth  from  some 
musty  and  forgotten  collection. 

In  (^losing  we  may  |»ausv  to  in(juire  how  far  north  the  ancient 
navigators  jtenetrated.  The  Icelandic  colonists  in  Greenland  may 
have  reached  a  very  high  latitude  during  the  three  hundred  years 
that  they  visited  there,  but  tlie  highest  point  indicated  is  that 
near  Cape  York,  in  72°  N.  ITpon  an  unptiblished  Si»anish  globe 
in  the  National  Library  at  Paris,  of  the  date  of  about  1540,  is  an 
jiidicjition  which  possibly  may  prove  that  some  navigator  had 
pushed  through  Smith's  sound  and  Koiteson  channel.  Many  unre- 
corded exj)editions  were  doubtless  made  into  the  north,  and  this 
globe  may  contain  the  memorial  of  some  French,  Spanish  or  Portu- 
siuese  vovage  not  far  from  the  vear  looo.  In  1500  and  in  1501, 
expeditions  went  north  under  Contereal,  who  also  went  in  1502, 
never  to  return.  On  the  east  coast  of  Greeidand,  so  far  as  our 
knowledge   goes,    exploration    was    not   carried    high    up,    though 


34 


Arctic  EA'ploratioti. 


Columbus,  in  going  three  IiuihIi'imI  mik's  boyontl  Ict^land,  must  have 
sailed  close  to  the  northern  bonier  of  Greenland.  If  he  had  perne- 
vered,  he  would  have  struck  the  New  World  in  1477.  The  early 
navigators  ap|»ear  to  have  j>ushed  northward  to  tlie  pack  ice,  but 
there  is  no  indication  of  their  having  known  either  Jan  IVfayen,  or 
PVanz  Joseith's  Land^  though  they  may  have  seen  both.  The  map 
of  the  Zeno  Brothers,  the  result  of  the  voyage  of  loSO,  stood  un- 
equalled down  to  looS,  no  improvement  iti  the  cartology  of  Green- 
laiul  being  made  until  the  voyage  of  John  Davis,  in  15S5,  The 
results  of  his  observations  in  Greenland  were  indicated  by  Molynenx 
on  his  globe  of  1592  and  on  his  mai>  of  KiOO,  which  was  engraved 
by  Wright,  being  ]»rojected  on  the  plan  attributed  to  Mercator. 
The  map  of  lOOO  apjx'ars  to  be  the  one  referred  to  by  Shakespeare 
in  Td'dftli  Xl'jlit,  as  "  the  new  map  with  thc^  augmentation  of  the 
Indies." 

Tn  1511,  the  Lenox  Globe  showed  an  open  sea  around  the  [>;.!e, 
and  in  1529  the  Verra/ano  Map  left  the  sea  still  open,  though  in 
the  antaratic  region  a  great  continent  was  beginning  to  appear 
south  of  Cape  Horn.  Herein  was  the  ))artial  representation  of  a 
classic  myth.  On  Mercator's  map  of  1509,  the  antarctic  continent 
exults  in  astounding  jjvojtortions.  Xotwithstanding  the  great  bene- 
fits conferred  upon  geogra}ihical  science  by  Mercator,  the  know- 
ledge of  the  globe  in  some  respects  was  retarded  in  his  hands,  owing 
to  the  weight  of  his  reputation.  The  northern  region  also  was  in 
time  filled  up,  and  ever  since  geographers  have  been  struggling  to 
recover  the  original  conception  of  a  ))olar  sea.  Shall  we  succeed  ? 
Of  speculation  on  this  ))oint  we  have  had  enougli,  and  the  question 
remains  to  be  decided  by  events.  One  thing,  however,  has  become 
clear,  namely,  that  the  prospect  of  sailing  to  the  pole  by  the  way  of 
Smith's  Sound  is  far  from  encouraging.  Manifestly,  beyond  a  cer- 
tain point,  the  route  must  l)e  pursueil  by  sledging.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  route  by  l^ehring  Straits  is  still  to  be  fully  tested.  The 
JeaneUe  under  Captain  de  Long,  which  last  year  ])assed  within  the 
ice  belt,  sailing  for  Wrangell's  J^and,  is  yet  to  be  heard  from.  The 
establishment  of  the  proposed  colony  at  Discovery  Bay,  in  latitude 
81^  44'  N.,  also  awaits  its  accomplishment.  When  this  is  done,  as  pro- 
bably it  will  be  done  in  thesummer  of  IftHl,  explorers  will  be  prepared 
to  make  fresh  advances  north  of  Smith's  Sound,  and  thus  enter  seri- 


jst  have 

\    {)01>l>- 

lic  early 
ice,  but 
ayen,  or 
riu"  map 
tood  un- 
it" Green- 
er,,    'fl.e 
lolyiu'ux 
jimraved 
^levcator. 
ikespeare 
)ii   of  the 

the  {»;.le, 
hough  in 
,o  appear 
,ioii    of  a 
rontinent 
cat  bcne- 
ic   know- 
Is,  owing 
o  was   in 
gling  to 
succeed  ? 
question 
s  become 
le  way  of 
nd  a  cer- 
the  other 
ed.     The 
ithin  tlic 
)ni.      The 
latitu(h' 
le,  as  pro- 
|)  rep  and 
'uter  seri- 


At'ctlc  Krp/ortifion. 


35 


ously  upon  the  work  of  reaching  the  j)oh'.  Captain  Nares  predicts 
that  this  run  never  b('(h)no,  as,  in  his  judgment,  tlic  ice  is  too  rouifh 
for  rapid  sledging,  wliile  a  powerful  current  is  continually  carry- 
ing tile  ice  southward.  The  opinion  of  so  brave  and  skilful  an  otlicer 
is  not  to  be  treated  lightly;  yet  tliere  is  no  proof  that  the  current 
always  acts  as  it  did  when  Captain  Markliam  made  his  great 
sledge  journey  to  83°  20'  N.,  the  highest  point  yet  reached,  nor  that 
the  ice  is  always  in  the  same  rough  condilioti  tliat  made  his  pro- 
gn'ss  so  slow.  These  are  points  that  remain  to  be  decided  by  a 
]»ermanent  colony.  In  that  sledge  journey,  Captain  Afarkham's 
party  was  prostrated  by  scurvy,  the  scourge  of  the  north,  thou<;h  a 
disease  which  a  [troper  supj>ly  of  provisions  will  obviate.  Kvideutly, 
too,  the  season  passed  in  the  north  by  the  Nares  expedition  was  one 
of  unusual  severity.  As  it  remained,  Cajjtain  iVIarkham  reached  a 
point  where  the  water  had  shoaled  to  70  fathoms,  indicating  apjtroach- 
ing  land.  They  turned  back  when  only  MOO^  iniles  fntm  the  pole.  It 
is  not  unreasonable  to  sup|)Ose  that  land  actually  exists  a  short  dis- 
tance north  of  this  point.  If  so,  that  land  may  be  gained  and  used 
as  a  base  of  operations  for  the  regions  beyond.  The  <pu'stion  of 
reaching  the  pole  is  now  being  resolved  into  one  of  equipment, 
while  in  this  department  something  is  yet  to  be  learned.  The  first 
thing  to  be  achieved  is  the  establishment  of  the  permanent  colony 
at  Discovery  Bay,  after  which  must  follow  the  use  of  every  appli- 
ance tliat  science  and  ingenuity  can  devise.  In  this  respect  the 
Xares  expedition  was  not  altogether  perfect.  Indeed,  no  temporary 
expedition  can  meet  all  the  conditions.  Permanence  in  operation 
must  characterise  any  successful  plan  to  reach  the  pole.  The  ex- 
lil(»rer  must  be  made  independent  of  ships;  he  must  have  adetpiate 
means  of  resisting  the  cold,  and  antiscorbutics  that  will  insura 
health.  These  things  are  certainly  possible,  and  when  secured  the 
!!"ctic  adventurer  can  bide  liis  time  and  await  the  favorable  season; 
in  the  meanwhile  spending  his  time  in  those  general  observations 
that  w'ill  prove  of  such  incalculable  scientific  advantage.  Haste 
will  form  no  part  in  that  great  campaign  whicli  must  conduct  the 
explorer  to  the  pole.  The  work  will  require  time,  and  the  highest 
courage  and  perseverance.  The  <»\p!orer  will  have  no  assistance 
from  the  natives  beyond  what  he  gains  from  those  who  live  south 
of  Discovery  Bay.     That  he  will   find,  as  he  pushes  into  the  far 


86 


Arctic  1^,1' pi  oration. 


north,  liiiy  "  Anitic  Hii^hlniidcr,"  livltij;  in  seclusion  with  licnls  of 
itiiisk  ox  and  leindcMT,  is  a  more  eliirncrii.*  KIlHnu'ic  Land,  far 
south  of  Discovery  Hay,  ajjpcars  to  he  the  northern  limit  of  the 
Kskitno.  Wherever  man  jjfocH  in  that  liij.^h  nortliern  region,  he  must 
carry  the  hulk  of  his  supplies  with  iiim,  as  it  will  \n\  found  im|)ossil»le 
to  sultsist  l>y  those  means  emjil(»yed  by  liieutenant  Schwatka  in  the 
i«outhward  regions  while  engagi'<l  in  the  Franklin  search.  Every- 
thing depends  upon  those  calculations  which  wdl  enable  the  ex- 
j)l()rer  to  gauge  his  strength  with  exactness  and  maintain  his  con- 
nection with  the  base  of  those  supplies  which  annual  relief  expedi- 
tions, independently  organized  an<l  maintained,  will  furnish  in  un- 
failing abundance. 

With  a  proper  e(juipment,  the  dangers  of  arctic  ex])l()rations  are 
reduced  to  tlu'  average  of  the  ordinary  seafaring  life,  and  experi- 
ence proves  that  such  work  in  the  north  can  no  longer  be  objected 
to  on  the  ground  of  its  risk.  Indeetl,  arctic  exploration  may  now 
be  considered  as  an  accepted  branch  of  study,  and  as  a  wise  exten- 
sion of  the  Signal  Service  into  the  realm  of  perpetual  cold.  This 
being  granted,  the  ultimate  results  will  take  care  of  themselves;  for, 
witli  prudence,  courage  and  })erseverance,  the  dream  of  the  middle 
ages  will  be  n'ali/.ed,  and  the  American  flag  will  be  planted  at  the 
Pole. 


*  The  portion  of  our  paper  which  covered  this  point,  nnd  showing  that  the 
Eskimo  were  a  litoral  people  driven  northward  i:(  ni  the  Middle  Atlantic  coast,  has 
heen  expanded  and  piddished  in  the  Popula  :•  deuce  Monthly,  November,  1880, 
under  the  title  of  *'  The  Glacial  Man  in  Americi.." 


:V 


'm. 


v\^ 


.\<b 


N^' 


<0> 


\^= 


.<^^ 


is^' 


Morcator'n  Map  of  the  World,  A 


fator>  Map  of  thu  Work),  A.  D.  1569. 


m 


